Obamacare: A Goldmine For Thieves

Editorial Cartoon by Glenn McCoy

Healthcare.gov ‘Audit Found 135 Database Vulnerabilities,’ Contractor Paid ‘$4 Million To Correct Defects Of The Botched Site,’ ‘Deficiencies’ Also Found In NY Exchange

‘Obamacare On A Network With Basic Cybersecurity Flaws’
“The federal government stored the sensitive personal data of millions of people who purchased insurance through ObamaCare on a network with basic cybersecurity flaws, a federal audit revealed Thursday.” (“HealthCare.gov Faulted For Weak Cybersecurity,” The Hill, 9/24/15)

“…the audit raises questions about the government's ability to protect a vast new database when cyberattacks are becoming bolder.” (“Bad News For Obamacare Users,” AP, 9/24/15)

• “Currently about 10 million people are covered through HealthCare.gov and state marketplaces offering taxpayer-subsidized private policies. But MIDAS also keeps information on many others, including former customers. Their data is retained for years.” (“Audit Finds Slipshod Cybersecurity At Healthcare.Gov,” AP, 9/24/15)

“‘It sounds like a gold mine for ID thieves,’ said Jeremy Gillula, staff technologist for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a civil liberties group focused on technology.” (“Audit Finds Slipshod Cybersecurity At Healthcare.Gov,” AP, 9/24/15)

• “…HealthCare.gov did not encrypt user sessions, which is common practice for most online financial transactions.” (“HealthCare.gov Faulted For Weak Cybersecurity,” The Hill, 9/24/15)
• “The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which oversees the site, also apparently failed to perform basic vulnerability scans that might have uncovered weaknesses in the website's servers.” (“HealthCare.gov Faulted For Weak Cybersecurity,” The Hill, 9/24/15)
• “…the HHS audit found 135 database vulnerabilities — such as software bugs — 22 of which were classified as ‘high risk.’ Sixty-two of the flaws were classified as medium risk.” (“HealthCare.gov Faulted For Weak Cybersecurity,” The Hill, 9/24/15)
• “The GAO is expected to release another report at some stage this year about what it described as multiple cybersecurity ‘incidents’ for HealthCare.gov. The system was apparently breached by hackers last summer…” (“HealthCare.gov Faulted For Weak Cybersecurity,” The Hill, 9/24/15)

‘U.S. Paid Healthcare.Gov Contractor $4 Million To Fix Its Own Mess,’ ‘CMS Did Not Accurately Identify All Obligations And Expenditures’
“The U.S. government paid the main healthcare.gov contractor $4 million to correct defects of the botched site and withheld only $267,420 of what it owed the company, according to a new federal audit.” (“U.S. Paid Healthcare.Gov Contractor $4 Million To Fix Its Own Mess,” Bloomberg, 9/22/15)

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  “… CGI Federal’s contract allowed the company to pass along its costs to taxpayers and to take a fee on top of that—essentially, its profit.” (“U.S. Paid Healthcare.Gov Contractor $4 Million To Fix Its Own Mess,” Bloomberg, 9/22/15)

“Healthcare.gov stumbled for months after it opened on Oct. 1, 2013, as CMS and its contractors scrambled to fix it. The total value of all CGI Federal's contracts for the site exceeded $250 million. In the five months that followed the bungled launch, CGI Federal billed taxpayers for $56 million. The government withheld $267,420 of that and approved the rest, including about $4 million in costs the auditors determined were to correct defects in the broken software.” (“U.S. Paid Healthcare.Gov Contractor $4 Million To Fix Its Own Mess,” Bloomberg, 9/22/15)

HHS IG: “CMS did not accurately identify all obligations and expenditures related to the Federal marketplace.  For 6 of the 62 contracts, CMS recorded $24,336,404 of obligations and $22,885,725 of expenditures in the Healthcare Integrated General Ledger Accounting System (HIGLAS) but did not identify them as being related to the Federal marketplace.  … Consequently, CMS is unable to accurately account for and report to interested stakeholders the amount spent on the development, implementation, and operation of the Federal marketplace.” (“CMS Did Not Identify All Federal Marketplace Contract Costs…” HHS IG, 9/15)

‘Audit Finds Deficiencies In New York State’ Exchange
“Some controls New York state relied on to make sure people were eligible for health-insurance coverage and subsidies on the state-run exchange were deficient, potentially letting some consumers get benefits they weren’t entitled to, an audit found.” (“Audit Finds Deficiencies In New York State’s Health-Insurance Exchange,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/23/15)

• “The inspector general for the Department of Health and Human Services reviewed a sample of 45 randomly selected applicants and analyzed their supporting documentation to see if the New York exchange followed federal regulations in determining eligibility for coverage and subsidies. Problems were found in at least 28 cases, or 62% of the sample.” (“Audit Finds Deficiencies In New York State’s Health-Insurance Exchange,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/23/15)

“The exchange’s controls weren’t always effective in verifying household income, resolving inconsistencies in eligibility data, and making sure programs were approved only for consumers who don’t have employer-provided insurance, according to the inspector general’s report.” (“Audit Finds Deficiencies In New York State’s Health-Insurance Exchange,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/23/15)

• “In three cases, the exchange improperly verified annual household income for applicants deemed eligible for insurance-affordability programs, the report said.” (“Audit Finds Deficiencies In New York State’s Health-Insurance Exchange,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/23/15)
• “Seven applicants in the sample had inconsistencies in their eligibility data, such as citizenship status or income, and the exchange didn’t resolve the issues for five of them, according to the report. In one of those cases, the exchange allowed an applicant to remain enrolled and obtain subsidies even though the consumer hadn’t provided documentation to resolve an income-related inconsistency, the report said.” (“Audit Finds Deficiencies In New York State’s Health-Insurance Exchange,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/23/15)

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