Calif. health exchange shares data without consent

The California health exchange is giving the names of tens of thousands of consumers to insurance agents without their knowledge.

The Los Angeles Times reported Saturday that the state provided names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses to insurance agents.

Those consumers had researched coverage online but didn't complete an application and didn't ask to be contacted.

Peter Lee, executive director of Covered California, says the information was shared to ease the process for consumers. The exchange was set up in response to the federal Affordable Care Act.

It has been struggling with a surge in applications ahead of a Dec. 23 deadline to have insurance in place by Jan. 1.

Nearly 80,000 people have signed up in and an additional 140,000 people qualified for the state's Medicaid program through Covered California.

© 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Citation: Calif. health exchange shares data without consent (2013, December 8) retrieved 28 March 2024 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-12-calif-health-exchange-consent.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Explore further

White house extends enrollment deadline for health insurance

 shares

Feedback to editors