Dear friends and neighbors,

Today I filed a Freedom of Information Act request for information about TestNebraska.com, the website that the Governor has been promoting for COVID-19 health assessments. I previously requested this information from both the Governor’s office and the Department of Administrative Services, but my requests were ignored. I included a copy of the request below.

There are several reasons for my concerns around TestNebraska.com. I’m concerned about Nebraskans sharing sensitive personal information like email addresses and birthdates that aren’t subject to HIPAA (federal law which protects sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patient’s consent or knowledge). According to the privacy information on TestNebraska, data shared through this website may be shareable or sellable. The federal government is also doing a lot of relaxing of HIPAA for COVID positives, which heightens my concern. In addition, the Nebraska Health Information Initiative (NEHII), our statewide health information exchange, has not been involved in the creation of this website.

TestNebraska cost taxpayers $27 million, but the State has kept both the Legislature and Nebraskans totally in the dark about any contracts signed. The contract matters.

When taxpayer dollars are spent on a new initiative, taxpayers deserve to know how that money is being spent. Nebraskans should not be encouraged to share personal information without full understanding of how this data will be used. My FOIA request is intended to uncover what should have been public information in the first place.

Until we get some more information about TestNebraska and are able to look at the contract signed between the State of Nebraska and the private companies behind this website, I cannot encourage constituents to submit their information through TestNebraska.

As always, please let me know if I can be of any more assistance. Email is the best way to get in touch with me, at mhunt@leg.ne.gov.

Many thanks,
Meg