In Brief: AHMC Healthcare Discloses Breach; California Endowment, AARP Team Up
AHMC Healthcare Discloses Patient Data Breach
Alhambra-based hospital operator AHMC Healthcare has disclosed that two laptop computers containing the protected health information of about 729,000 patients were stolen from its offices.
The laptops contained data on patients who have been treated at six hospitals in Southern California. They were stolen from secured offices on Oct. 12, according to videotape surveillance.
Alhambra police arrested a transient earlier this week who was identified as appearing on the videotape. However, the laptops have not yet been recovered.
In a prepared statement, AHMC said it did not believe the data had been accessed, but it also indicated the laptops had not been encrypted. The company also said it was contracting with an outside firm to conduct a security risk assessment.
Under state and federal laws, AHMC must notify the patients that their personal healthcare information has been stolen.
California Endowment, AARP Team On ACA Information Initiative
The California Endowment has teamed with AARP to promote health plan enrollment as part of the Affordable Care Act.
The two organizations will sponsor webinars to discuss the intersection between Medicare and Affordable Care Act and record personal healthcare stories and successes. AARP will also participate in events that are part of the California Endowment's Get Covered campaign.
"AARP is proud to partner with The California Endowment and the Get Covered campaign to connect Californians to affordable, quality health care," said Katie Hirning, State Director for AARP in California. "With 7 million uninsured in California, there is a great need for continued outreach and education to ensure that residents are enrolled into healthcare and get the vital services they need to stay healthy."
Cutoff For Individual Mandate Penalty May Be Altered
In an attempt to respond to the balkiness of the federally-operated health insurance exchanges, the Obama Administration is discussing ways to possibly extend the deadlines for individuals to purchase health insurance without incurring a financial penalty.
Under the current rules, individuals currently without insurance would need to purchase coverage by Feb. 15 to take effect on March 31 to avoid a penalty. White House officials have indicated that they are working on a retooling of the policy so that those individuals who enroll between Feb. 15 and March 31 would not incur a financial penalty if plans take effect by mid-April, essentially giving applicants an extra six weeks to obtain coverage.
Officials have indicated that the decision is not in response to a slow rollout of the ACA and glitches that have been plaguing the state exchanges operated by the federal government. A team of “surge” tech specialists are working on making the exchanges operate more swiftly.
