Covered California — that’s the Once-Golden State’s ♡bamaCare!!! exchange — is going to collect customer data.
And no, customers can’t opt out:
Covered California says this massive data-mining project is essential to measure the quality of care that patients receive and to hold health insurers and medical providers accountable under the Affordable Care Act.
The state in April signed a five-year, $9.3-million contract with Truven Health Analytics Inc. of Michigan to run the database.
The effort has raised questions about patient privacy and whether the state is doing enough to inform consumers about how their data will be used. There are also worries about security amid massive breaches at Anthem Inc. and other health insurers affecting millions of Americans.
Peter Lee, executive director of Covered California, said protecting sensitive information was a top priority and that consumers stand to benefit from the collection of medical data. He acknowledged the state had no plans to let consumers opt out and keep their records out of the database.
On the heels of the OPM personnel files breach and the California government’s reputation as a hive of scum and villainy, collecting and collating all those private health files in a single location seems like a perfectly swell idea.
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