House Votes to Increase Security Measures on Health Care Exchanges

The House voted on Friday to strengthen security protections on the HealthCare.gov website, requiring all security breaches of the health insurance exchanges to be reported in a timely fashion.

The bill — known as the “Health Exchange Security and Transparency Act” — passed largely on party lines, 291 to 122, with 67 Democrats voting for the legislation. The measure would require the health department to inform affected consumers within two business days of any possible breach of the federal or state exchanges.

The legislation is the latest effort by Republicans to capitalize on troubled rollout of the president’s signature health care law, which they view as a major weakness for President Obama and congressional Democrats.

In a news conference on Thursday, Speaker John A. Boehner said the bill was “part of a broader effort to protect the American people from the consequences of this disastrous law.”

He said that while Mr. Obama “doesn’t want anyone to see what’s taking place with this law,” he himself believes that “the millions of Americans being hurt by it, frankly, have a right to know.”

Some Democrats have argued that the bill is an example of Republicans overstating the problems on the health care website.

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