Democratic senators Monday warned the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to withdraw its plan to collect personally identifiable health data from millions of federal employees and retirees.
According to a notice last December by the Office of Personnel Management, the proposed effort would involve the widespread aggregation of individuals’ health data, including medical visits, prescriptions, and treatment histories.
In a letter sent April 19 to OPM Director Scott Kupor the sixteen senators urged the agency to immediately reverse course on “their illegal and dangerous decision to seek unprecedented access to the personal medical records of millions of federal workers, retirees, and their families.”
The Senators expressed concern regarding sweeping access of private medical data, stating it violates core principles of the law and places the personal information of Americans at serious risk of potential cyberattacks, unauthorized access and political exploitation.
“We strongly urge you to cease any further consideration of this proposal,” the Senators wrote. “Our federal employees work every day to serve the American people and deserve to have their health data protected.”
A group of 10 House Democrats sent a similar letter April 17 to OPM and OMB, also raising concerns that the administration “could use this data to target federal employees who have accessed abortion care, contraceptives, in vitro fertilization, gender-affirming care, pre-exposure prophylaxis for the prevention of HIV, or any other health care services targeted by Republicans.”
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the largest union representing federal employees, also expressed concern. AFGE National President Everett Kelley issued this statement:
“This proposal, published without fanfare in December, would require 65 insurers to submit monthly reports to OPM containing individual health data, including prescription records, diagnoses, treatment histories, and provider information, with no requirement that identifying information be removed. Health law experts, former OPM officials, and major insurance carriers have raised serious legal concerns about whether this proposal complies with HIPAA. CVS Health has stated plainly that complying with OPM’s request would require insurers to break the law.”
AFGE is calling on Congress to demand answers from OPM about the legal basis, the intended use, and the safeguards for this data before any final rule is issued.