Fox News’ Bret Baier opened tonight’s “Special Report” with a warning for HealthCare.gov users:
You can add privacy concerns to the growing list of complaints about the President’s disastrous health care overhaul rollout. It seems those potential Obamacare customers who are able to penetrate the website’s unintentional front-end security gauntlet may be delivering their most private information on a silver platter to the bad guys.
In a segment leading tonight’s show, Fox News reporter Peter Doocy recounted the story of Justin Hadley and Thomas Dougall, two users of HealthCare.gov who found themselves mixed up in a security breach caused by bad “software code,” according to the Obama Administration.
The story broke Saturday night, when Hadley and Dougall, unable to reach anyone at HealthCare.gov or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, spoke to Heritage about the problem.
>>> Read More: HealthCare.gov Users Warn of Security Risk, Breach of Privacy
Hadley discovered Dougall’s personal information after logging on to HealthCare.gov last week. Hadley was looking for insurance information after his current health policy was canceled; Dougall had shopped for a new plan last month, but opted not to sign up.
In an interview with Fox News, Dougall said there is still no system in place for reporting a security breach — a major problem that’s causing lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to push for the site to be taken down.
At least 10 Senate Democrats, including Senate Intelligence Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), believe HealthCare.gov should be removed until it’s secure: “I said this directly to the President’s chief of staff, they ought to take down the website until it was right.”
House Intelligence Chairman Mike Rogers (R-MI) is one of the lawmakers worried about high-tech hackers who might take advantage of the website’s security flaws.
“You have criminals trying to get information that is now available on these websites,” he said.
Last week, the Associated Press disclosed a government memo revealing the “high” security risk for HealthCare.gov. Those concerns surfaced at last Wednesday’s hearing with HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who claimed the system was secure.
HHS spokeswoman Joanne Peters told the AP, “When consumers fill out their online … applications, they can trust that the information they’re providing is protected by stringent security standards and that the technology underlying the application process has been tested and is secure.”
Now, with a real-life privacy breach, senators are expected to raise the issue with officials from Health and Human Services in congressional testimony starting tomorrow.
