Posted on 01/05/2014 12:41:37 PM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina health officials said Friday that they had inadvertently disclosed the personal information of tens of thousands of children receiving Medicaid coverage, but were tight-lipped about precisely what caused the massive privacy breach.
The state Department of Health and Human Services issued a written release saying that new Medicaid cards for nearly 49,000 children were mailed on Dec. 30 to the wrong people. The information on the cards includes the children’s names, Medicaid identification numbers, dates of birth and the names of their primary care doctors — personal medical data that is supposed to be tightly protected under federal law.
“The department has begun a careful review of this incident to determine how it occurred and to ensure personal information is protected,” said Sandra Terrell, the state’s acting Medicaid director. “DHHS knows exactly which Medicaid cards were sent to which addresses, and is rapidly working to issue correct Medicaid cards.”
Agency spokesman Ricky Diaz said state officials were first informed of the problem on Thursday by county officials. The release publicly disclosing the breach was emailed Friday at 5:20 p.m., shortly after WSOC-TV in Charlotte posted a story about the error.
Diaz insisted that the agency disclosed the information to the public “as quickly as possible.”
(Excerpt) Read more at charlotte.cbslocal.com ...
That’s OK, the government isn’t concerned with HIPPA, that’s for the little people.
In a memo sent to Republican colleagues on Thursday, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., announced that the chamber would take up a measure next week to “strengthen security requirements” on the error-plagued HealthCare.gov website and “require prompt notification in the event of a breach involving personal information.”
“American families have enough to worry about as we enter the new year without having to wonder if they can trust the government to inform them when their personal information — entered into a government mandated website — has been compromised,” Cantor added.
Republican chairmen for four Congressional committees — Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chief among them — have spent considerable time and effort in recent weeks trying to prove that administration officials overlooked or flat-out ignored warnings that the security infrastructure of HealthCare.gov had vulnerabilities. Now, House GOP leaders are riding the wave of public outcry over these reports to schedule a vote on related legislation.
“To date, the Administration has downplayed the risk of a data breach, perhaps in part because their primary goal is signing people up for insurance through the Exchange,” Cantor told his members in the Thursday memo."...........
Oh, that is quite all right. They were just trying and they meant well. That’s all that really need count nowadays with Democrats and government bureaucrats.
Here’s my take. These “children” don’t exist. They were created by people so they could get numerous cards under different names and sell them. After all, the government admitted there would be no requirement of proof.
I won’t say whether or not I think they’re Amish.
“...new Medicaid cards for nearly 49,000 children were mailed on Dec. 30 to the wrong people...
...state officials were first informed of the problem on Thursday by county officials...”
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Something about this does not make sense.
Zer0Care!
The gift that keeps on giving!
I know the very last thing I would do right now is sign up for any healthcare through the ObamaCare or any state exchange....the very last thing.
I haven't seen one thing that makes sense out of this healthcare fiasco and yet I'm dumbstruck by the non-stop screw ups.
I know you're speaking administratively on this issue. I don't know the mechanics of it. But how in the heck to you get 49,000 addresses wrong? How?
Shhh, it's a secret. Government is totally incompetent. Don't tell anyone.
But how in the heck to you get 49,000 addresses wrong? How?
I'll say.
“ensure personal information is protected,” said Sandra Terrell, the state’s acting Medicaid director. “
A little late, don’t you think?!
“New federal Medicaid eligibility rules starting Jan. 1 allowed the agency to shift medical coverage for more than 70,000 children of low-income families from the state-run NC Health Choice to Medicaid.”
It is my understanding that in the end, even when using one of their frigging exchanges, you end up with a commercial policy anyway - except those on Medicaid assignment.
So I don't see where it would be illegal - the insurance company, whatever they sold you would have to conform to the law.
So I don't think it's a problem for DIY, but I'd expect they'd give you grieve if you wanted a subsidy. IOW, if you're a self-payer, non entitlement person like I think most Freepers are, then you ought to be able to DIY without little boy Obama's magic surprise website.
Uh oh, somebody’s gonna be in trouble. Big, big trouble.
Whoa, wait just a minute.
This was a government screw-up. A gigantic, massive government screw-up.
So nobody’s gonna be in big trouble. Or any kind of trouble. At all.
Never mind...
Wait till they find out how much a a bad deal military and VA medicine has been.
That’s government health care.
It is socialized medicine, in its design and it has a bad reputation.
And it uses doctors.
Wait until Bo care eliminates all good health professionals. No doctor in his right mind would sign up for this.
OY. It’ll make military medicine look like the Mayo clinic.
Another bill to undercut the law? So the reporter’s telling us the law was intended to permit release of personal information?
Love the situation with the NC guys. They get the info on Thursday then give the fraudsters a 24 hour head start by sitting on it for a day.
Yep, as long as the policy is compliant. And I think the HIPAA “shall issue” rules may still apply once your COBRA expires, which might let you buy something better than the ObieCare lowest common denominator policies. (Assuming you don’t qualify for the subsidy) Might want to check it.
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