The MARS-E (Minimum Acceptable Risk Standards for Exchanges) framework, developed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), establishes privacy and security standards for health insurance exchanges created under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). It ensures the protection of sensitive data such as Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and Protected Health Information (PHI) within ACA-administering entities, including federal and state exchanges, Medicaid programs, and their contractors.