Senate to review HIPAA Security of Medical Records in Light of Anthem Breach

A monumental data breach at one of the nation’s largest insurance providers has spurred a bipartisan effort to reexamine the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), possibly adding a costly and cumbersome requirement to encrypt health records (EHRs).
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee announced February 6 that it is planning a new bipartisan initiative to examine the security of all health information technology and the healthcare industry’s preparedness against cyber attacks.
“Patients, hospitals, insurers—all Americans who value the safety and privacy of their sensitive personal information—have a right to be alarmed by reports that their electronic records might be vulnerable to a cyber attack,” says committee chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.).
Read more at Medical Economics.