Covered California Consumer’s Privacy Measure signed into law

SACRAMENTO – Senator Joel Anderson’s Senate Bill (SB) 514 was signed into law by Governor Brown today. This bill allows applicants to indicate whether or not they want assistance in completing the Covered California application, and prohibits the applicant’s personal information from being shared with private companies if they do not want assistance.

Before this bill, Covered California shared consumers’ personal information with private companies without permission due to a security loophole, leading to thousands of Californians receiving calls from insurance telemarketers.

The bill passed both the Senate and Assembly without a single no vote and was signed by Governor Brown into law Aug. 19.

Anderson stated “The right to privacy is among the most important rights we enjoy as Americans, making it important to close the loophole that allowed for private information to be given without permission.”