Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), the Oversight Subcommittee Chairman of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee, sent letters to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy questioning recent media reports that the federal government is secretly storing the personal information of Americans who have looked for insurance using the HealthCare.gov website.
“It appears that the information is stored for all individuals who open an account on the website – regardless of whether they sign up for coverage,” said Rep. Loudermilk. “Furthermore, according to the news report, ‘consumers have no way of knowing’ that their personal information is being permanently stored by the Administration. What is even more concerning is the type of information that is being kept secretly.”
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, personally identifiable information is being collected or maintained by this system and includes the following: social security numbers, dates of birth, names, mailing addresses, phone numbers, financial accounts information, military status, employment status, passport numbers, and taxpayer IDs.
The letters state that “The Administration has never appeared to be forthright about the use and storage of personal information on HealthCare.gov, and has yet to explain the reason for indefinitely storing user information, particularly when some of the users did not even enroll on the website.”
The letters request all documents and communications related to the data storage facility.
The full letter to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services can be found HERE.
The full letter to White House Office of Science and Technology Policy can be found HERE.