Anthem settles with California over breach for $150K
California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris has announced a settlement with one of California’s largest health insurers, Anthem Blue Cross, over allegations that the payer failed to protect the personal information of its members. The company also must pay $150,000 to settle the claim.
The lawsuit, which was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court along with the settlement, alleges that Blue Cross of California, which does business under the name Anthem Blue Cross, printed Social Security numbers on letters mailed to more than 33,000 of its Medicare Supplement and Medicare Part D subscribers between April 2011 and March of this year. The complaint states that Anthem’s conduct violated a state law that restricts the disclosure of Social Security numbers.
“This settlement requires the company to make significant improvements to its data security procedures to ensure this type of error does not happen again,” said Harris.
After the incident, Anthem sent a letter to all affected members whose Social Security numbers were visible through the mailed envelope, notifying them of the breach and offering each a year of free credit monitoring services.
The settlement also requires Anthem to implement new technical safeguards for its data management system, restrict employee access to members’ Social Security numbers and provide enhanced data security training for all of its associates.
The lawsuit, which was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court along with the settlement, alleges that Blue Cross of California, which does business under the name Anthem Blue Cross, printed Social Security numbers on letters mailed to more than 33,000 of its Medicare Supplement and Medicare Part D subscribers between April 2011 and March of this year. The complaint states that Anthem’s conduct violated a state law that restricts the disclosure of Social Security numbers.
“This settlement requires the company to make significant improvements to its data security procedures to ensure this type of error does not happen again,” said Harris.
After the incident, Anthem sent a letter to all affected members whose Social Security numbers were visible through the mailed envelope, notifying them of the breach and offering each a year of free credit monitoring services.
The settlement also requires Anthem to implement new technical safeguards for its data management system, restrict employee access to members’ Social Security numbers and provide enhanced data security training for all of its associates.