Identity Theft and Obamacare

As I’ve previously mentioned, in my role on the Science Committee, I’ve been actively working to make sure Americans are safe from data theft under Obamacare. The data being entered into healthcare.gov is one of the largest collections of personal information ever assembled, linking information from federal agencies, state agencies, and outside contractors. Americans who use the site must input addresses, birth dates, Social Security numbers, income amounts, and other personal financial information. It’s easy to see why a security breach would be disastrous. This week, the Science Committee held a hearing on the Consequences of Stolen Identity from healthcare.gov.

During my questioning of cybersecurity experts, I learned that if there is a security breach under Obamacare, hackers could use that information to gain access to your medical records. What’s also troubling is that in the past three years, there has been a 111% increase in data breaches from federal agencies. It’s not just identity thieves that will try to exploit the weaknesses in healthcare.gov—it’s also foreign entities and organized crime. I asked every expert in the room if they would feel comfortable submitting their information through healthcare.gov. Not a single one answered yes. You can watch our exchange here.

So what can we do about it? I’m committed to repealing this law—not just because of identity theft concerns from the website, but also because it’s raising costs, decreasing patient choice, and hurting families in West Texas and the Big Country. While we continue to fight for a full repeal of the law, the House has passed some legislation that will increase accountability and transparency on healthcare.gov.