May. 20, 2021
BRIDGEVILLE – Rep. Jason Ortitay (R-Washington/Allegheny) issued the following statement in response to the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s (DOH) decision to terminate Insight Global’s contract to conduct contact tracing for the Commonwealth. Last month, a WPXI investigation revealed more than 70,000 Pennsylvanians have had their personal information accessible on the internet after answering calls from Insight Global employees:
“Exactly four weeks ago, Insight Global’s actions came to public light, and I immediately called for the contract to end. I’m pleased DOH finally agrees with me but am disheartened that it took the agency so long to come to the same conclusion.
“I learned about this violation of trust and privacy in early April and alerted high-ranking state officials, but they dismissed my concerns. In addition, according to the agency’s statement today, Insight Global is just now beginning to notify individuals who have been affected by this security breach. As has been the case throughout the Wolf administration, there seems to be no sense of urgency to fix mistakes.
“I am still seeking answers about why the department or the administration didn’t take action when they were notified months earlier and again by me in early April. Also, how many more people had their information compromised because the governor’s administration did not act immediately? This deserves a full investigation so we can learn what happened and how to prevent it from happening again moving forward.”
The 46th Legislative District includes Collier and South Fayette townships and Bridgeville, Heidelberg, McDonald and Oakdale boroughs in Allegheny County. It also encompasses Canton, Cecil, Mt. Pleasant, Robinson and Smith townships and Burgettstown, McDonald and Midway boroughs in Washington County.