A new report detailing how the government stores Obamacare data is reviving Republican fears it could compromise Americans’ personal information.
A government data warehouse known as MIDAS houses the information people must provide when enrolling in health insurance under President Obama’s healthcare law, according to a report Monday by the Associated Press. The data is stored indefinitely, prompting privacy concerns in light of recent big security breaches.
“Despite a poor track record on protecting the private information of Americans, they continue to use systems without adequately assessing these critical components,” said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, calling the approach “careless.”
“These reports confirm that it is indeed held indefinitely in Obamacare’s Multidimensional Insurance Data Analytics System,” said Rep. Diane Black, R-Tenn.
“This should concern every American who desires to see their personal information protected from the prying eyes of Big Brother Obama and it begs the question: What else don’t we know when it comes to Obamacare?” she added.
MIDAS is owned by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the main agency tasked with carrying out the Affordable Care Act and operating healthcare.gov, where Americans can buy health insurance plans.
The system is operated by government contractor CACI, which is working on a contract worth more than $110 million until 2017, according to the AP report. The Government Accountability Office has said it was established without a complete assessment of privacy risks.
MIDAS is thought to contain personal information, including Social Security numbers, addresses and birthdates, for some 10 million Americans enrolled in health insurance plans via healthcare.gov.
