OPM Says FEHB Data Will Be Anonymized, Keeping Only 3 Member Fields
Updated
Updated · FEDweek · Jun 17
OPM Says FEHB Data Will Be Anonymized, Keeping Only 3 Member Fields
1 articles · Updated · FEDweek · Jun 17
Summary
Scott Kupor said OPM will receive FEHB and PSHB medical data only after names, Social Security numbers, phone numbers and most other identifiers are stripped out, with member IDs later replaced by random characters.
3 member-level fields would remain in OPM's dataset—ZIP code, year of birth and member ID before randomization—while the records are kept in a separate encrypted environment under existing IT security controls.
Kupor said the agency wants near-real-time claims data to catch misbilling, overbilling and improper services before inspector general audits, allowing faster recovery of losses and possible provider termination.
NARFE, which had criticized OPM's roughly 100-word Federal Register explanation in April, said Kupor's 1,500-word blog post usefully clarifies the anti-fraud purpose but still wants more detail before the plan advances.
The clarification follows warnings from AFGE and about a dozen Democratic lawmakers that detailed health records could be misused, especially for care areas such as reproductive and gender-affirming treatment.