House Votes To Boost Health Website’s Security
House Republicans were joined by 67 Democrats to send to the Senate legislation requiring the government to inform consumers within two days of a security breach in the insurance marketplaces.
The New York Times: House Votes To Increase Security Measures On Health Care Exchanges
The House voted on Friday to strengthen security protections on the HealthCare.gov website, requiring all security breaches of the health insurance exchanges to be reported in a timely fashion. The bill — known as the "Health Exchange Security and Transparency Act" — passed largely on party lines, 291 to 122, with 67 Democrats voting for the legislation. The measure would require the health department to inform affected consumers within two business days of any possible breach of the federal or state exchanges (Parker, 1/10).
The Wall Street Journal: House Passes Bill To Notify Users Of Health Exchange Security Breaches
House Republicans on Friday sought to keep up political pressure on the Obama administration's health-care rollout, with the House passing legislation intended to address alleged security weaknesses with the HealthCare.gov website. ... The legislation is part of a Republican strategy to keep attention on problems with the Affordable Care Act ahead of November's midterm elections. Republican leaders hope to blunt an aggressive push by the White House and Democrats to shift the policy debate to domestic economic issues (Crittenden, 1/10).
The Washington Post: House Approves HealthCare.gov Security Bill
Republicans' aides openly boasted Friday about the 67 vulnerable Democrats willing to buck President Obama, who strongly opposed the measure. The White House said the proposal would create "unrealistic and costly paperwork requirements" that wouldn’t improve the safety or security of the site's users (O'Keefe, 1/10).
