HHS memo warns of Obamacare data breaches, exchanges managed by Democrats



(Photo by Chris Schneider/Getty Images)

Christopher Collins
Paulding County Republican Examiner


October 1, 2013

As Obamacare launches, a memo was sent to thousands of Obamacare exchange-navigators who are assisting consumers enrolling into Obamacare, warning them not to leave consumer's personal data on printers and fax machines that could lead to consumer privacy data breaches, according to radio host Rush Limbaugh on Tuesday.

The Department of Health and Human Services sent the memo to the thousands of Obamacare-exchange navigators across the country on Monday and the reminder came from a 207-page “Health Insurance Marketplace Navigator Standard Operating Procedures Manual” that was drawn up in August 2013.

Limbaugh said, “The same section of the 207-page operator’s manual asks navigators to double-check the fax number before faxing Obamacare enrollee’s tax returns.” Get this…when faxing PII or tax return information, double-check that the recipient’s fax number is correct and that someone is able to pick up the faxed information immediately.”

“Are you kidding me? We have a 207-page operator’s manual for the people running Obamacare. If you went out and bought an iPhone and it had a 207-page operator manual, you would take it back,” said Limbaugh.

“If you bought anything that had a 207-page operator manual, other than your car, and those things on every other page is a safety warning designed to keep the lawyers off everybody's back. You'd take it back. But here's a 207-page operator manual, and they have such little confidence in the people they've hired to do this, they have to remind them.”

If that was not enough, Limbaugh also reported on Tuesday that hired Obamacare navigators in California, and most likely in many other states, are members from ACORN, Planned Parenthood, and the Service Employees International Union (SEUI).

Limbaugh said, “In California, the navigators are people from ACORN, Planned Parenthood, the Service Employees International Union... Well, they are. That is who got the money to administer the exchanges. I remember the story that we did on this about a month ago.”

“California's getting something like $900 million for their exchange, and the people running it are ACORN, SEIU, Planned Parenthood and this is probably going to be the case in all the other exchanges as well,” said Limbaugh.

“They are voter-registration outreach plans, essentially, in addition to administering the exchanges. So it is going to be ACORN, SEIU, Planned Parenthood. They're going to have to make sure that your tax return and other personal data isn't just lying around on a fax machine or left overnight in the printer for the janitorial crew to get.”

“Holy smokes, folks, if they have to remind people of that, do you realize, you're worried about the NSA… you need to be worried about the Obamacare navigators,” said Limbaugh.

Unless Congress acts, the IRS will enforce certain aspects of Obamacare and navigators will have access to highly sensitive identifying information of the consumers they assist.

Some of the data consumers will be releasing to these navigators are consumers’ names, addresses, or social security numbers, incomes, personal finances, debts, deductions and exemptions.

They will also have access to any action taken by the IRS, such as investigations or penalties and any private written agreements, such as pricing agreements, with the IRS and any background information about these agreements.

Americans for Tax Reform obtained the complete 207-page “Health Insurance Marketplace Navigator Standard Operating Procedures Manual” and can be read here.

http://www.examiner.com/article/hhs-memo-warns-of-obamacare-data-breaches-exchanges-managed-by-democrats