EDITORIAL: Arizonans' privacy at stake in new proposal: Our view

Feb 24, 2010 — The Arizona Daily Star

Feb. 24, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- A proposal from Rep. David Stevens that would give lawmakers the names of Arizonans who receive government-subsidized Medicaid, long-term care or whose kids receive discounted health care because their working parents can't afford private insurance is an overreach of legislators' personal power that must not become law.

This bill, HB 2276, is ostensibly intended to root out any fraud or misuse of taxpayer money that may -- we repeat, may -- be happening. A fine goal, but this legislation is a dangerous diversion of power. If lawmakers suspect that government benefit programs are being abused, they must make that information available to the professionals running the programs or to state auditors.

What's even more troubling is that Stevens contends that, because of his background in computers, he is qualified to make sure that the data each state agency has on participants is accurate.

He said, according to a story by Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services, that he would use his personal computer to sift through the data and "flag" suspect information.

(This, we note, from a lawmaker who has no biographical information listed on his official House Web site.)

The entire notion from Stevens, a Republican from Sierra Vista, harks back to the 1980s and Ronald Reagan's rallying cries against the mythical "welfare queens" -- the spectre of freeloading women who game the system and live high on the taxpayers' dime.

The potential for lawmakers to use sensitive personal information -- or just the fact that a particular person is in a financial position to need government assistance -- for their own purposes is undeniable.

It is unfair, but a stigma about using public benefit programs does exist in the minds of some people. Unscrupulous legislators could use that bias for political gain.

Lawmakers do, under Arizona law, have access to sensitive information that the general public does not.

They can, after they sign a nondisclosure agreement, receive briefings about cases in the Child Protective Services system, for example.

This access is designed to help legislators do their jobs better, to help them understand the needs of the state's most vulnerable and to ensure that the state is doing all it can to protect kids in dangerous situations.

But if a lawmaker suspects a problem in a CPS case, it is not his place to intervene or insert himself into the process. The appropriate action is to spur action or fix problems through legislative means. Lawmakers must deal with the big picture, not the day-to-day operations of the state.

This is where Stevens' bill goes awry. If he, or any lawmaker, is concerned that state agencies are using incorrect data to determine eligibility for benefits, the appropriate response is to act to fix the system.

Finding problems with the operation of government benefit programs is a legitimate purpose, but giving lawmakers access to thousands of Arizonans' personal information for a fishing expedition is not the way to stop potential fraud or misuse of taxpayer money.

Arizona Daily Star

Newstex ID: KRTB-0014-42315661