Deven McGraw of CDT expresses their concern over an executive proposal to have the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) create a centralized database of health insurance claims:
Under the law, the multi-state plans are to supplement state-based insurance plans, with the goal of ensuring there is true competition in all markets. OPM, which currently administers the Federal Employees’ Health Benefits Program, will be the administrator of the multi-state plans.
In proposing rules for running these plans, the administration has said it intends to give OPM the same level of access to claims payment and enrollment data that the agency currently has over health claims for federal employees. Yet these are records of people who aren’t federal employees at all. This capability to collect and store individuals’ health data in a centralized, government-run warehouse is unnecessary, and it creates needless privacy and security risks.
Read more on The Hill.