Andy Biggs U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona's 5th district | Official U.S. House Headshot
Andy Biggs U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona's 5th district | Official U.S. House Headshot
Today, Congressman Andy Biggs (R-AZ) sent letters to Xavier Becerra, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, and Judy Faulkner, CEO of electronic health record company Epic, regarding concerns over the threats posed to health data privacy.
HHS and Epic recently announced a partnership to provide a new service enabling patients to electronically access and share their health records. This announcement comes as cyberattacks targeting health records are on the rise and follows several recent breaches, including the 2023 D.C. Health Link breach that compromised the health data of tens of thousands of patients and this year’s cyberattack on Change Healthcare that resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in losses.
Congressman Biggs’s letter asks Secretary Becerra and Faulkner to provide answers clarifying the partnership’s efforts to ensure data security.
“Americans are justifiably concerned about the privacy of their health data, and Congress must ensure that involved parties do everything in their power to prevent cyberattacks and leaks,” said Congressman Biggs.
“The benefits provided by this service could be helpful for many patients, but we must not blindly sacrifice privacy for convenience. I look forward to working with HHS and Epic to protect Americans’ privacy.”
Cosigners of this letter are Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO), Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA), and Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ).
The letter to HHS Secretary Becerra may be read here, and the letter to Faulkner may be read here.
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