Four senators have introduced a bipartisan bill to improve cybersecurity in the healthcare sector and safeguard health data of Americans.
The proposed Health Care Cybersecurity and Resiliency Act of 2024 was developed by the lawmakers through a bipartisan healthcare cybersecurity working group that launched in 2023, Sen. Maggie Hassan’s office said Friday.
What Would the Bill Do?
The proposed measure would provide grants to health organizations to enhance cyberattack prevention and response, provide training to health entities on cybersecurity best practices and require the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, to implement a cybersecurity incident response plan.
The legislation would offer best practices to rural health clinics and other providers on how to prevent cybersecurity breaches, improve resilience and coordinate with federal agencies.
The bill also seeks to improve coordination between HHS and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to facilitate response to cyberattacks in the healthcare sector.
“Cyberattacks on our health care sector not only put patients’ sensitive health data at risk but can delay life-saving care,” Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La.“This bipartisan legislation ensures health institutions can safeguard Americans’ health data against increasing cyber threats.”
Cassidy, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee’s ranking member, introduced the bill with Sens. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., Mark Warner, D-Va., and John Cornyn, R-Texas.
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