Blue Cross plans Web access to records [via Google Health] - The Boston Globe

I understand from someone who spoke with Blue Cross today to explore the details that this may be default opt-in, which I suspect would keep the Blue Cross customer service people  busy -- until they reverse the policy...

Come this fall, members of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts will be able to go online to look up their healthcare claims and some medical records, which the insurer says will help patients manage their medical care and have more productive discussions with doctors.

The feature is being offered through Google Health, the new healthcare Web portal recently opened by the Internet search giant based in Mountain View, Calif. Blue Cross-Blue Shield said it is the first health insurer to sign on to the service.

[...]

Fox said no money changes hands between Google and Blue Cross-Blue Shield as a result of the affiliation. He said Google wants to attract as many users as possible to its site, while Blue Cross-Blue Shield seeks to offer members an online tool.

This topic domain is still a paradox to me: so lots of people went ballistic when Microsoft hinted at a service like this, in conjunction with its "HailStorm" vision c2001 (which in some respects is now live, as HealthVault), but somehow Google, with a business model fundamentally focused on "monetizing" other people's content, is default = trustworthy with individuals' most private information?

Blue Cross plans Web access to records - The Boston Globe