Legislator’s plan shores up how and where data is maintained

The Michigan House on Tuesday voted to advance a bill from state Rep. Jamie Thompson that protects sensitive medical information for people across the state.

Thompson’s House Bill 4242 is part of plans that help safeguard Michigan’s residents, security and economy from threats posed by foreign entities of concern. The legislation requires health care providers in Michigan to have electronic health record technology that is physically maintained in the United States or Canada when storing patient medical information.

“People in communities I represent and in Michigan should have peace of mind knowing sensitive information within their medical records isn’t at risk,” said Thompson, of Brownstown. “We have seen breaches in our state that expose this type of data and impact tens of thousands of patients through insurance fraud and identity theft. If these breaches come from a foreign adversary of the United States, the fallout could be profound. In addition, the lack of trust resulting from a privacy breach can cause patients to potentially withhold serious information that may help get them needed care. As a licensed practical nurse, I find this element very concerning as well.

“Our adversaries abroad frequently try to compromise our national security and access information within our country. We should be updating our laws to reflect this reality and installing commonsense safeguards to protect residents.”

Unsecured breaches of protected health information affecting 500 or more individuals are required to be reported by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Last year, an average of 61 large healthcare data breaches were reported each month. Nearly 1.8 million people nationwide were affected by healthcare data breaches in March.

Other bills in the package would:

• Prevent foreign entities of concern from collecting sensitive information by blocking prohibited apps on government devices.

• Prohibit public bodies from entering into constraining agreements with foreign countries of concern.

• Ensure public economic incentives are not awarded to foreign entities of concern.

• Protect the safety of Michiganders by preventing entities of concern from purchasing land and surveilling military bases and other critical infrastructure.

The bills in the package apply to all of the dangerous entities included on the federal watch list: The People’s Republic of China, the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Republic of Cuba, the Venezuelan regime of Nicolas Maduro, and the Syrian Arab Republic.

House Bills 4233-35 and 4238-42, which contain the foreign influence plans, now move to the Senate for consideration.