Author: P Hasselbacher

Breach of Personal Healthcare Information at Anthem.

Healthcare data unchained!

We often hear the aphorism, “Anything put on the internet, stays on the internet.” I suggest a corollary, “Anything put on a computer can be retrieved by a determined inquisitor.” So it is even for the most intimate of personally identifiable information – healthcare records. Given massive nationwide efforts to digitize our healthcare encounters, and given the frequency with which those digits are shared among insurers, contractors, researchers, public health officials, health information exchanges, pharmaceutical companies, healthcare providers, and the host of other interested parties who claim a legitimate interest, it is inevitable that data will go astray and be misused – illegally or inappropriately! It is said of computer hard-drives that one does not ask if a failure will occur, but when. I maintain that the same dictum holds true of personal health information. If computer-wielding crooks can steal from banks (which we assume use the highest degree of on-line and network protection), how impregnable is the healthcare industry? Apparently not so much.

Big data-hack at Anthem.
Earlier this month, health-insurer behemoth Anthem announced that the personal healthcare and credit card information of as many as 80 million of its customers may have been compromised. A secondary wave of attacks is already occurring as scammers send email warnings pretending to be from Anthem or credit-protection companies seeking to extract even more personal information from frightened Anthem customers. The Anthem breach strikes close to home. At last week’s UofL board of Trustees meeting, it was announced that some 5700 UofL employees might be on the Anthem list. I may be one of them. Not a good feeling. I feel violated enough when my personal healthcare information is being used to target me with marketing propaganda cloaked as important medical information. Having the same information in the hands of bona fide crooks gives me the willies. Continue reading “Breach of Personal Healthcare Information at Anthem.”

UofL Firing of Vice President Sam Connally. Will The Truth Emerge?

Felner Redux?

Last December I wrote a follow-up story about the firing of UofL Vice President for Human Resources, Sam Connally, allegedly over his complaint of misconduct against Provost Shirley Willihnganz. These related to manipulation of the state Request For Proposal (RFP) purchasing process seeking a new health-plan manager for the University’s self-funded employee heath insurance benefit with a goal of obtaining a possible additional multi-million dollar gift from Humana, and also inappropriate Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filings. The University hired an outside attorney to investigate who determined that there was no merit to Mr. Connally’s claims.

In my mind, when you hire a lawyer, the expectation is that the best argument in favor of your position will result. A truly independent investigation would be paid for by someone else. I was reminded of UofL President Ramsey’s default response when confronted by numerous accusations of misconduct against former School of Education Dean Robert Felner by characterizing them as “anonymous c**p.” (Dr. Feller subsequently went to jail.) In my first article, I asked for a truly independent outside audit perhaps by State Auditor Edelen, and also asked the Board of Trustees to do their duty. On the basis of the investigation and the recommendation of University administration, the Board approved the firing of Connally. Continue reading “UofL Firing of Vice President Sam Connally. Will The Truth Emerge?”

Building A New VA Hospital— What Would Robley Rex Think?

robley-rexThe lengthy and tortuous planning process to build a replacement Robley Rex Veterans Administration hospital came into public view again these last three weeks. On January 15, dual afternoon and evening public hearings were held at the Clifton Center to allow public comment on the site-specific draft environmental assessment of the former farmland. It is my understanding that these were expected to be the last public hearings to held for the relocation project.

I estimate that some 60 people attended each session, but I could not completely differentiate program development and VA staff members from the public. There were probably some, like me, that attended both hearings. An initial (and certainly futile) request was made to keep the session on topic— to focus comments on the draft environmental assessment. Although some general questions might be answered, it was made clear that the intent was not to fully answer questions so much as to collect them for incorporation into the final environmental assessment.

Each session was begun with a welcome and introduction of the new VA director, Martin J. Traxler, and a presentation from planning staff member Mary Peters summarizing the environmental assessment. That presentation, the full environmental assessment report, and its summary are available from the Louisville VA website. The large bulk of environmental questions and comments related to concerns about traffic and disruptions during the multiyear construction process itself. Continue reading “Building A New VA Hospital— What Would Robley Rex Think?”

Catholic Health Initiatives Bond Rating Drops Again.

In late January, Moody’s, a major bond-rating organization, downgraded the long-term debt of Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) to A2 from A1. This was the third one-notch drop in as many years. According to municipalbonds.com, the downgrade “follows a fourth year of declining operating performance, and a second year of very poor consolidated results.” Other factors reported to have contributed to the weaker credit profile included “high leverage (which has more than doubled since 2011), declining liquidity, rapid expansion, high capital spending, and poor same-store utilization and revenue growth.” A prior negative outlook was maintained. The rating for CHI’s self-liquidity-backed commercial paper remained at P-1, the best rating possible.

moodys-rating-system

Continue reading “Catholic Health Initiatives Bond Rating Drops Again.”