Health Information Management

WellCare of Georgia accidentally posts patient records for 71,000 families on Internet

HIPAA Weekly Advisor, April 28, 2008

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Tampa-based WellCare Health Plans, Inc., inadvertently posted patient information about 71,000 Georgia families on the World Wide Web, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on April 8.

 

The information was removed April 2 and it is unknown how long the patient information was available or when it was initally posted online, the paper reported.

 

The information posted online was accessed, potentially by unauthorized users, according to the article. More than 10,000 Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids members' Social Security numbers may have been viewed. PeachCare is an insurance plan for children from low income working families. Other content was accessed at least 248 times.

 

WellCare, a partnership between private healthcare management organizations and the Georgia Department of Community Health, believes that no Medicare, coordinated care, private fee-for-service or prescription drug plan members were affected by the breach, the paper reported.

 

"The files exposed did not contain credit card, debit card or financial account numbers," WellCare said in a statement. "They may have contained personal identifying information, such as a member's name, birth date, dates of eligibility, Medicaid or PeachCare for Kids member identification number, Social Security number or other health plan related information.”

 

Wellcare has 2.3 members nationwide, including 450,000 members in Georgia. It has notified families affected by the breach by letter. It also has offered free credit monitoring for one year according to the article. In addition, it has retained an information technology company to assess privacy and security controls, Mike Cotton, president of WellCare's Georgia region, told the newspaper.

 

For more information, click here.



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