Rep. Gary Palmer discusses federal hacking scandal and healthcare
June 19, 2015
BIRMINGHAM, AL (WBRC) -Congressman Gary Palmer says the head of the federal Office of Personnel Management, the agency whose database of millions of federal employee records was hacked, should resign.
It's part of the hacking scandal that's left millions of federal employees private information, including Social Security numbers, floating unsecured in cyberspace. Palmer sits on the House Oversight Committee and subcommittee that oversee the OPM, so his read of the situation and where this is going could be considered well-informed.
Palmer says what irks him here is that federal agencies have known they had outdated hardware and software protection for months if not years, and didn't move fast enough to secure themselves.
"It's almost like a NASCAR race and you blow an engine--well you don't start trying to repair the engine, you pull the engine and put a new one in," Palmer said. "That's really where I think we are right now."
Palmer also said he'd like to see penalties put into new trade agreements, like the current TransPacific Partnership agreement under consideration, that sanctions nations caught hacking other country's databases.
"It really is something that we all oughta be concerned about," Palmer said. "And I think we need to address that as a policy of the United States. Not necessarily a trade policy, but a policy that says there's gotta be some consequences for engaging in these kind of attacks."
Palmer is also drumming up support for a new bill he's sponsoring that would give doctors and hospitals a two-year grace period to comply with tens of thousands of new Medicare and Medicaid codes they have to input when filing patient records.
He says under current law, those healthcare providers would have their federal funds suspended if they're caught using the wrong code, something he says could lead to poor and rural patients being denied access to healthcare.
"If we don't do that, I'm afraid a lot of these physician practices and a lot of these rural hospitals are gonna close and you're gonna have people in Marion County and Perry County that are gonna have to drive two hours at least to find a hospital or see a doctor," Palmer said.
"If we don't do that, I'm afraid a lot of these physician practices and a lot of these rural hospitals are gonna close and you're gonna have people in Marion County and Perry County that are gonna have to drive two hours at least to find a hospital or see a doctor," Palmer said.