Washington, DC - Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI) asked the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to ensure the protection of health information for participants in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) as it urges companies participating in FEHBP to use health information technology (HIT).

Senator Akaka said, "Although the adoption of HIT through the FEHBP has the potential to provide better and more efficient health care, this cannot be done without addressing potential consequences for health information privacy. The changes that will accompany the full use of information technology in the health care industry may raise issues not currently addressed under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule."

Senator Akaka noted this in citing a September 8, 2004 letter from the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics to former Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson which noted the need to balance data exchange that is essential to health care with enhanced patient control of their personal health information.

Senator Akaka sent a letter to Acting Director Dan Blair requesting that any call for FEHBP participants to adopt the use of health information technology also request information on the privacy protections available to plan enrollees and for OPM to report on the number of plans that have entirely electronic-based information systems and whether there have been any HIPAA privacy complaints against those plans.

Last year, the President signed Executive Order 13335, Incentives for the Use of Health Information Technology and Establishing the Position of the National Health Information Technology Coordinator. This order calls for the development and implementation of a nationwide interoperable HIT infrastructure to improve the quality and efficiency of health care. As part of this initiative, OPM reportedly plans to leverage its purchasing power and alliances to move the adoption of HIT forward.

Senator Akaka serves as the Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia, which has jurisdiction over the FEHBP. The FEHBP provides health insurance benefits to over 8 million federal workers, annuitants and their families. It is the largest program of its kind and is widely considered to be a model employer-provided health insurance program.