Anthem Blue Cross Data Breach—HealthFlex Response

HealthFlex plan sponsors may be receiving questions about the Anthem Blue Cross data breach on February 4, 2015, as reported in the news. The Center for Health is aware of the data breach, and at this time we do not believe that any HealthFlex participants’ data is involved. We are in close communication with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL) to assess whether there is a risk to our participants’ data. As a precaution, you may want to encourage participants to keep a close eye on their accounts and credit reports for suspicious activity.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois is not directly connected with Anthem Blue Cross. However, both Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois and Anthem Blue Cross are independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association—a national federation of 37 independently operated member companies.

The following is information the Center for Health received from BCBSIL yesterday (and its parent company, Health Care Service Corporation), which includes a link to a website that Anthem Blue Cross has created to address questions about the incident. The General Board’s Health Team is also aware of the information below, and will share the same with any participants who call the General Board.

From Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois: Information Regarding Anthem Data Breach

On Wednesday, Feb. 4, Anthem, Inc., the largest of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans, disclosed that its databases that store employee and customer data had been breached by hackers. It is not clear how many records have been exposed. While the investigation is still ongoing, at this time, Anthem is reporting that no medical records were accessed in the breach, but personal information, including Social Security Numbers, was accessed. Anthem has advised us that it has engaged the FBI and is in the process of conducting a detailed forensic investigation into the breach.

The security of our members' and employees' personal and health information is a top priority for Health Care Service Corporation and its five state plans—Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas. We are working hard with Anthem to determine whether any of our customers or employees were affected by this event. Should we discover that any of our members were impacted, you will be notified.

If you have concerns about any of your online accounts, we recommend that you monitor them closely for unusual activity. We will provide additional information as it is available.

Anthem has established a special website to address questions about this incident.

Contact General Board with Questions

If you have any additional questions, please contact Bob Gerlach at rgerlach@gbophb.org or 1-800-269-2244, ext. 2704, or your conference/plan sponsor liaison.

 

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