Cassidy pushes for ACA cyber security

In the wake of reports that 19 security vulnerabilities of the Affordable Care Act’s healthcare exchange website are unaddressed, Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said on Monday the site may need to be temporarily shut down.

Cassidy also noted President Obama’s unwillingness to make the healthcare.gov website comply with the same security regulations that private companies face.

“Since Oct. 1, we have all witnessed the numerous problems associated with the roll out of Obamacare and healthcare.gov,” Cassidy said. “By any reasonable standard, this website, which cost the taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, has not functioned properly. Now we know that the website may not be secure, and confidential consumer information could easily be stolen. All options need to be on the table to fix the data breaches, including the possibility that the website needs to be temporarily shut down before hackers can access private information.”

Federal contractors should face the same requirements to notify consumers of data breaches as private companies, Cassidy added.

“…If a corporate executive fails to notify consumers that their private information is hacked, they can be held legally accountable,” Cassidy said. “It should be the same with Washington bureaucrats. That’s why we should pass the Health Exchange Security and Transparency Act, which would apply the same prompt notification rules to the federal government that exist in the private sector.”