Rick Scott Warns Privacy Could Be Compromised by Obamacare

On Monday, Gov. Rick Scott took aim at President Barack Obamas signature federal health-care law in a letter sent to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. Scott, who rose to political prominence in opposing the law, pointed to reports that Social Security numbers were compromised as administrators struggle to enact the law.

On Thursday, Sept. 12, 2013, an individual applying to be a navigator in Minnesota mistakenly received 2,400 Americans Social Security numbers when a federal insurance exchange employee accidentally sent him an email," Scott wrote. Reports say the information contained, page after page of names, business addresses, license numbers and Social Security numbers.

As you know, the federal insurance exchanges are set to open in October in Florida and all across the country for individuals to access insurance in order to avoid paying a penalty under the presidents new health care law, Scott continued. While Florida and many other states fought against this law and its penalties all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, we ultimately lost our battle and the legislation is now the law of the land.

Even though our chance to stop the presidents health care law at the state level has passed, we are becoming increasingly concerned about how the implementation of the law will affect Floridians, Scott added. In fact, Florida has been identified as ground zero for the administrations efforts to get people into the federal insurance exchange. This characterization has been underscored by multiple visits to our state by U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius asking people to use the federal exchange.

Scott warned that personal information needed to be protected as navigators sign up Floridians for the law.

The navigators are moving quickly in Florida to collect personal information and sign Floridians up on the federal exchange. Some navigators have even publicly stated their desire to set up offices in state health facilities, where we have a direct obligation to ensure Floridians privacy is protected, Scott wrote. Mounting pressure to enroll Floridians in the federal exchange must make us pause to carefully review what protections are in place to safeguard the personal information of hundreds of thousands of Floridians and millions of Americans who are expected to use the federal exchange to escape the penalty under the presidents new health care law.

Scott asked the congressional leaders to review privacy rules and safeguards as the law starts to be enacted.