Key Takeaway:
One week until Health Insurance Exchanges go live: We’ve endured weeks of federal and state hearings about the security, functionality, and reliability of the state and federal health insurance exchanges, as well as the federal data hub responsible for routing the appropriate information. Next week the speculation will end as the real system tests begin. Senior officials have confirmed exchanges will open as scheduled, but expect there to be some glitches in the first few weeks.
Other Buzz:
FirstNet Investigation’s First Report Finds No Wrongdoing: A special review committee concluded that the FirstNet board has been transparent in its dealings and did not block some board members from accessing key documents. The report was in response to accusations by FirstNet Board Member Paul Fitzgerald that certain members of the board were not being provided with information and planning of the network was being pre-conceived behind the scenes by contractors. The report did not address a charge by Fitzgerald that members of the board had conflicts of interest; that will be addressed in a separate report.
Federal Government Funding Path Still Uncertain: The federal government will shut down if Congess does not pass a Continuing Resolution to continue funding the government by October 1, and the path to agreement is uncertain. After one of the longest Senate speeches in the history of the chamber by Senator Ted Cruz (D-TX), the Senate plans to vote on a continuing resolution that passed the House of Representatives earlier this week. Majority Leader Reid (D-NV) is expected to file an amendment that strips language out of the House bill that defunds the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) and changes the expiration date of the continuing resolution from Dec. 15 to Nov. 15. The fate of the bill once it returns to the House of Representatives is uncertain. In addition, Congress must raise the United States debt limit by October 17 or the government will not be able to meet its obligations.
Questions? Comments? Reach out through the NASCIO Community or e-mail me directly at mherckis@amrms.com; or send some interesting articles along to me and Mickey’s new neighbor Samantha Wenger (swenger@amrms.com)--and thanks for reading.
Your Weekly Techbytes:
October Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Boom or Shutdown Bust?
LinkedIn Accused of Hacking Customers’ E-Mails for Contacts
Voluntary Cyber Incident Reporting from the Private Sector better than Mandatory
Don’t Professionalize Cybersecurity Just Yet
Just a (Recognized) Face in the Crowd
iPhone Fingerprint Security System hacked within 48 hours of release
California passes the first "right to be forgotten" internet privacy law in the U.S.