Assembly Republicans Call for Hearing on Patient Information Security

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Jan. 29 -- The California State Assembly Republican Caucus issued the following news release:

In a continued effort to protect Californians from becoming victims of identity theft, Assembly Republicans today called for a legislative hearing to examine why Covered California has hired felons convicted of financial crimes to sign up Californians for health insurance. Some of the felons hired were convicted of crimes such as welfare fraud, forgery, shoplifting and burglary. The state's health exchange also hired individuals with multiple convictions of these types of crimes. Assembly Republican Leader Connie Conway, of Tulare, and Assemblyman Brian Nestande, R-Palm Desert, today sent a letter to the chairs of the Assembly Health Committee and the Assembly Accountability and Administrative Review Committee asking for a joint hearing to review Covered California's hiring practices. "We understand that individuals who have paid their debt to society deserve a second chance, but felons convicted of financial crimes should be disqualified from being hired by the state as navigators. Allowing these individuals to have access to private information, such as Social Security numbers, would be like giving an auto thief a set of car keys," the letter notes. The request comes after a story published today by the National Review uncovering how Covered California has hired felons as enrollment workers with access to personal information such as Social Security numbers, tax return history and private health data. Assemblyman Brian Nestande asked Covered California twice for information regarding hiring felons, but the state agency has failed to respond to his requests. Republicans have a long-standing interest in protecting sensitive patient information. Assemblyman Jeff Gorell has introduced Assembly Bill 1560, which would require Covered California to keep enrollee information private unless they give permission to be contacted by third parties. This legislation was introduced in response to another press article highlighting how Covered California had distributed the personal information of tens of thousands of people who visited the government website to insurance telemarketers without the knowledge or consent of these shoppers. Last year, Assembly Republicans introduced Assembly Bill 3 (http://arc.asm.ca.gov/member/AD26/?p=article&sid=212&id=254948) in the First Extraordinary Session which would have prohibited anyone who has been convicted of felony crimes of dishonesty or breach of trust from being hired by or contracting with Covered California if he or she would have access to the financial or medical information of enrollees. After receiving assurances that Covered California would implement a robust policy that protects California's residents, Assembly Republicans modified the strict prohibition. There was strong bipartisan support for Senate Bill 509 (DeSaulnier) and Assembly Bill 1428 (http://arc.asm.ca.gov/member/AD26/?p=article&sid=212&id=256418) (Conway), which were signed into law by the Governor, to follow the federal guidelines for background checks for Covered California workers and contractors. Assembly Republicans last year sent a letter to the Covered California (http://arc.asm.ca.gov/member/AD26/pdf/212-Covered_CA_Assembly_GOP.pdf) board urging them to adopt a zero tolerance policy for hiring workers with criminal histories. Last summer, Assembly Republicans launched a website to help inform Californians about the new federal health care law called "Covering Health Care California." The website - which can be viewed at CoveringHealthCareCA.com - helps Californians navigate the massive new law and answer their questions in clear and easy-to-understand terms. Click here (http://arc.asm.ca.gov/redirect.aspx?URL=http://goo.gl/khAUOb) for the full text of the letter calling for a legislative hearing.

CC AutoTriage5rn-140130-30FurigayJane-4619093 30FurigayJane