Trump administration personnel agency is asking for federal workers' medical records [View all]

Source: CBS News

April 8, 2026 / 5:00 AM EDT


The Trump administration is quietly seeking unprecedented access to medical records for millions of federal workers and retirees, and their families.

A brief notice from the Office of Personnel Management could dramatically change which personally identifiable medical information the agency obtains, giving it the power to see prescriptions employees had filled or what treatment they sought from doctors. The regulation would require 65 insurance companies that cover more than 8 million Americans — including federal workers, retired members of Congress, mail carriers, and their immediate family members — to provide monthly reports to OPM with identifiable health data on their members.

The proposal is prompting unease from insurers as well as health policy and legal experts, who are concerned about the legality of OPM acquiring such a sweeping database of sensitive health information, and the agency's ability to safeguard it. OPM could use the data to analyze costs and improve the system, said Sharona Hoffman, a health law ethicist at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio.

"But," she said, "they are going to get very, very detailed and granular data about everything that happens. The concern here is the more information they have, they could use it to discipline or target people who are not cooperating politically." OPM spokespeople did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-federal-workers-medical-records/

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Now THIS is gonna impact me and many other current and retired feds (at least those who use the FEHB (Federal Employees Health Benefits).

This would only hit a tiny few members of Congress who are still there, pre-ACA (2010) and grandfathered to FEHB (along with retired members), as the newer members of Congress were required to go on one of the ACA exchanges. But perhaps those who are still on the FEHB, will kick up enough fuss to kill this bullshit asap.