{"id":628,"date":"2026-07-27T21:12:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T21:12:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/?p=628"},"modified":"2026-07-27T21:12:51","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T21:12:51","slug":"narfe-still-has-concerns-with-opms-plan-to-collect-employee-health-care-records","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/?p=628","title":{"rendered":"NARFE still has concerns with OPM\u2019s plan to collect employee health care records"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association on Thursday said the Office of Personnel Management still has not sufficiently protected federal workers and retirees as part of a plan to collect claims-level health data in an effort to root out fraud.<\/p>\n

Read more Government service delivery needs standard definitions, former government tech leaders say<\/a><\/p>\n

Last December, OPM published an information collection request that would require insurers who participate in the Federal Employee Health Benefits and Postal Service Health Benefits programs to provide monthly reports with identifiable health data on their enrollees, prompting concerns from ethicists, health care providers, employee groups and lawmakers alike.<\/p>\n

In response to those concerns, OPM published a revised proposal last month, purporting to take steps to mask employees and retirees\u2019 identities in the data collection. In an accompanying blog post, OPM Director Scott Kupor described how the anti-fraud effort would still protect workers\u2019 privacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn layman\u2019s terms, OPM\u2019s [Office of Inspector General] . . . will provide an encrypted copy of that data to OPM\u2014but only after stripping out names, Social Security numbers, phone numbers, addresses (except for ZIP codes) and other personally identifiable data,\u201d he wrote. \u201cThe only member-level [personally identifiable information] fields that will remain in the data that OPM receives will be our members\u2019 ZIP codes, year of birth and their member ID. To further sanitize these records, OPM will scramble, or pseudonymize, the member ID information using a state-of-the-art cryptographic hashing process, replacing member ID with a random set of numbers and characters that is divorced from the real identity of the plan participant.\u201d<\/p>\n

But in a letter to Kupor Thursday, NARFE National President William Shackelford said that while his organization appreciates the steps taken thus far to shield FEHBP and PSHBP participants\u2019 identities, he remains troubled by OPM\u2019s insistence that it be able to re-identify employees via their health records in the future. Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, health care data should be not just pseudonymized, but de-identified entirely, he wrote.<\/p>\n

Read more Selective Service System seeks software to aid the draft<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cNARFE\u2019s position is straightforward. OPM has moved in the right direction,\u201d Shackelford wrote. \u201cBut we asked for de-identified data and OPM has offered pseudonymized data, and those are not the same commitment. Pseudonymization does not remove the risk that our members\u2019 health information will be linked back to them; it makes that linkage a matter of OPM\u2019s discretion, exercisable by whoever holds the relevant authority in any future administration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additionally, most of OPM\u2019s reassurances about privacy and the data collection\u2019s anti-fraud purpose exist solely within Kupor\u2019s blog post, and not the proposal published in the Federal Register<\/em> last month.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat remains is otherwise the difference between description and obligation,\u201d Shackelford wrote. \u201cWe ask OPM to convert what it has described into what it is bound to do: de-identification as the default and pseudonymization as the justified exception, mandatory rather than discretionary safeguards, hard separation of key material from enrollment files . . . and an explicit prohibition on personnel-related use.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Attorney general nomination faces another week of scrutiny<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last month, the Office of Personnel Management sought to assuage concerns about its request for claims-level data on federal workers\u2019 health insurance usage. Employee groups say it\u2019s still not enough.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":627,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-628","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nNARFE still has concerns with OPM\u2019s plan to collect employee health care records - Market Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/?p=628\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NARFE still has concerns with OPM\u2019s plan to collect employee health care records - Market Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Last month, the Office of Personnel Management sought to assuage concerns about its request for claims-level data on federal workers\u2019 health insurance usage. Employee groups say it\u2019s still not enough.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/?p=628\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Market Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-27T21:12:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/marketrelocationreport.com\\\/?p=628#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/marketrelocationreport.com\\\/?p=628\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/marketrelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/19c060c848a41baec5bd9c5b313f46d9\"},\"headline\":\"NARFE still has concerns with OPM\u2019s plan to collect employee health care records\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-27T21:12:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/marketrelocationreport.com\\\/?p=628\"},\"wordCount\":532,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/marketrelocationreport.com\\\/?p=628#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/marketrelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/9812c617c8225715207d3ccd2f3882c1.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/marketrelocationreport.com\\\/?p=628#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/marketrelocationreport.com\\\/?p=628\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/marketrelocationreport.com\\\/?p=628\",\"name\":\"NARFE still has concerns with OPM\u2019s plan to collect employee health care records - Market Relocation Report\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/marketrelocationreport.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/marketrelocationreport.com\\\/?p=628#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/marketrelocationreport.com\\\/?p=628#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/marketrelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/9812c617c8225715207d3ccd2f3882c1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-27T21:12:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/marketrelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/19c060c848a41baec5bd9c5b313f46d9\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/marketrelocationreport.com\\\/?p=628#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/marketrelocationreport.com\\\/?p=628\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/marketrelocationreport.com\\\/?p=628#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/marketrelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/9812c617c8225715207d3ccd2f3882c1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/marketrelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/9812c617c8225715207d3ccd2f3882c1.jpg\",\"width\":400,\"height\":400},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/marketrelocationreport.com\\\/?p=628#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/marketrelocationreport.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"NARFE still has concerns with OPM\u2019s plan to collect employee health care records\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/marketrelocationreport.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/marketrelocationreport.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Market Relocation Report\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/marketrelocationreport.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/marketrelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/19c060c848a41baec5bd9c5b313f46d9\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/marketrelocationreport.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/marketrelocationreport.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"NARFE still has concerns with OPM\u2019s plan to collect employee health care records - Market Relocation Report","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/?p=628","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"NARFE still has concerns with OPM\u2019s plan to collect employee health care records - Market Relocation Report","og_description":"Last month, the Office of Personnel Management sought to assuage concerns about its request for claims-level data on federal workers\u2019 health insurance usage. Employee groups say it\u2019s still not enough.","og_url":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/?p=628","og_site_name":"Market Relocation Report","article_published_time":"2026-07-27T21:12:51+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/?p=628#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/?p=628"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/19c060c848a41baec5bd9c5b313f46d9"},"headline":"NARFE still has concerns with OPM\u2019s plan to collect employee health care records","datePublished":"2026-07-27T21:12:51+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/?p=628"},"wordCount":532,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/?p=628#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/9812c617c8225715207d3ccd2f3882c1.jpg","articleSection":["Interesting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/?p=628#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/?p=628","url":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/?p=628","name":"NARFE still has concerns with OPM\u2019s plan to collect employee health care records - Market Relocation Report","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/?p=628#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/?p=628#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/9812c617c8225715207d3ccd2f3882c1.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-27T21:12:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/19c060c848a41baec5bd9c5b313f46d9"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/?p=628#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/?p=628"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/?p=628#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/9812c617c8225715207d3ccd2f3882c1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/9812c617c8225715207d3ccd2f3882c1.jpg","width":400,"height":400},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/?p=628#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"NARFE still has concerns with OPM\u2019s plan to collect employee health care records"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/","name":"Market Relocation Report","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/19c060c848a41baec5bd9c5b313f46d9","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com"],"url":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/628","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=628"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/628\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/627"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}