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ObamaCare enrollment portal breached, data of 75,000 compromised, officials say
Published October 21, 2018
The sensitive personal information of around 75,000 people was compromised last month after a government portal used to help people enroll in health plans through the Affordable Care Act's insurance marketplace was hacked, officials said Friday.
The breach of HealthCare.gov comes two weeks before that start of the annual six-week enrollment period for health coverage, the Washington Post reported.
Seema Verma, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said “open enrollment will not be negatively impacted."
The agency first noticed problems Oct. 13 in the online enrollment portal available to agents and brokers. The breach was detected Thursday and federal authorities are conducting an investigation.
CMS spokesman Johnathan Monroe said the HealthCare.gov website used by the general public was not affected.
"This concerns the [insurance] agent and broker portal, which is not accessible to the general public," he said.
Consumers applying for health coverage have to provide personal information such as Social Security numbers, income and citizenship or immigration status.
The thousands of people affected by the breach make up a small share of the 8.7 million people who signed up for this year's coverage.
President Trump has promised to repeal the Affordable Care Act to no avail. In the meantime, his administration has made efforts to weaken parts of the law.
Trump recently halted payments under a program that protects insures with sicker patients from financial losses.
https://www.foxnews.com/health/obamacare-enrollment-portal-breached-data-of-75000-compromised-officials-say