MNsure Director Underscores Data Security Review

MNsure and MnIT officials appeared before the MNsure Legislative Oversight Committee Tuesday, September 24, to highlight their efforts in ensuring that personal data acquired in the health insurance exchange will be secured. The hearing resulted from a recent incident, when a MNsure employee inadvertently sent an email to an insurance broker that contained social security information of insurance agents participating in the MNsure health insurance exchange program.

"We will not be going live if there is a smoking gun," MNsure Executive Director April Todd Malmlove told committee members. She also stressed that the recent data security breach was unrelated to the MNsure information technology system that will be available to consumers.

Jim Nobles, Legislative Auditor, outlined the ongoing investigation examining the data breach. "Yes, there was human error," he said. "But were there decisions made by MNsure that made it more possible for the human error to occur?" Noble's office will release a report on their investigation in the coming weeks.

MNsure is set to launch October 1st and it will provide health insurance consumers an online marketplace to review and purchase health insurance coverage, which is mandated in 2014 under the affordable health care act.