WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration appears to be making broader changes to protect consumer information on the government's health insurance website, after objections from lawmakers and privacy advocates.
The Associated Press reported last week that details such as consumers' income and tobacco use were going to private companies with a commercial interest in such data.
AP also reported that a number of companies had embedded connections on HealthCare.gov, raising privacy and security issues for some tech experts.
An independent analysis of the health care website, released Saturday, showed that the number of embedded connections to private companies had dropped from 50 to 30.
Those changes accompanied another shift by the administration to curtail the release of specific personal information from the website. The AP reported that change Friday.
After failing to respond to interview requests, the administration posted a statement Saturday evening. HealthCare.gov CEO Kevin Counihan acknowledged that privacy questions have been raised, and added: "We are looking at whether there are additional steps we should take to improve our efforts. While this process is ongoing, we have taken action that we believe helps further increase consumer privacy."
Officials have said the sole purpose of embedded connections to private companies was to monitor HealthCare.gov and improve performance for consumers.
The episode could become a blemish on what's otherwise shaping up as a successful open enrollment season for the second year of expanded coverage under President Barack Obama's health care law.
Lawmakers continue to insist on a full explanation.
HealthCare.gov is used by millions to sign up for subsidized private coverage under the law, or to merely browse for insurance plans in their communities.
The changes by the administration mean that the website is no longer explicitly sending out such details as age, income, ZIP code, tobacco use and whether a woman is pregnant.
An independent tech expert said Saturday that a new analysis by his firm also found a sharp drop in the number of embedded connections to outside companies.
Mehdi Daoudi, CEO of Catchpoint Systems, which measures website performance, said that was down from 50 to 30 such connections. Catchpoint had previously analyzed the performance of HealthCare.gov for AP, and found the site was much improved. But Daoudi had raised questions about the high number of third-party connections.
Cooper Quintin, a staff technologist with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a civil liberties group, said the changes are "a great first step," but more needs to be done.