Federal health privacy law doesn't require encrypted data

[unhappycamper]

http://www.telegram.com/article/20150206/NEWS/302089951/1002/business

Federal health privacy law doesn't require encrypted data
Friday, February 6, 2015
By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — Insurers aren't required to encrypt consumers' data under a 1990s federal law that remains the foundation for health care privacy in the Internet age — an omission that seems striking in light of the major cyberattack against Anthem.

Encryption uses mathematical formulas to scramble data, converting sensitive details coveted by intruders into gibberish. Anthem, the second-largest U.S. health insurer, has said the data stolen from a company database that stored information on 80 million people was not encrypted.

Standards lacking

The main federal health privacy law — the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA — encourages encryption, but doesn't require it.

The lack of a clear encryption standard undermines public confidence, some experts say, even as the government plows ahead to spread the use of computerized medical records and promote electronic information sharing among hospitals, doctors and insurers.

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In the 21st Century, one would expect private information to be encrypted.

[HockeyMom]

1. My techie husband works on encrypion

for software house. He said no it is not required under the law.

When I turned 65, I got all sorts of mailings for Medicare Advantage Plans. How did all these insurance companies get my name? I had no health insurance before. Did they get my name and address when I signed up online for Medicare? That information should be private too. Can they hack into the goverment sites too?

[Hestia]

2. By law, 3rd parties are allowed access to gov't databases. Your mailings probably came from the

SSI database.

I think the basis for the article is disingenuous - just because the law doesn't say you can, doesn't mean they can't. Does 21st century common sense have to be codified into law?