Skip to Content


Chad Terhune, quoting I. Glenn Cohen (Faculty Director)
LA Times
June 21, 2015

Read the Full Article

From the article:

With 1.4 million people enrolled, the state-run marketplace is embarking on an ambitious effort to collect insurance company data on prescriptions, doctor visits and hospital stays for every Obamacare patient. Covered California says this massive data-mining project is essential to measure the quality of care that patients receive and to hold health insurers and medical providers accountable under the Affordable Care Act.

The state in April signed a five-year, $9.3-million contract with Truven Health Analytics Inc. of Michigan to run the database. The effort has raised questions about patient privacy and whether the state is doing enough to inform consumers about how their data will be used. There are also worries about security amid massive breaches at Anthem Inc. and other health insurers affecting millions of Americans. [...]

Public disclosure of health plan performance could put pressure on insurers to better serve patients, giving the state another bargaining chip in rate negotiations. [...]

Glenn Cohen, a professor at Harvard Law School and expert on the ethics of using healthcare data, said the lack of an opt-out was troubling because many exchange customers don't have the option to shop elsewhere. Nearly 90% of Covered California customers receive a federal premium subsidy, and they can access those tax dollars only through the exchange. "I worry about these people being a captive audience," Cohen said. "The more voice you give to patients in this process, the more ethically justified you are doing this with big data." [...]

Read the Full Article

Tags

bioethics   health care reform   health law policy   i. glenn cohen   public health