UPMC Health Plan Breach Affects 700+ Clients

July 15--UPMC -- Health Plan inadvertently released personal information of 722 insurance subscribers, the third time since early 2014 that the Pittsburgh health giant's customer and patient data has been compromised.

The health insurer said Tuesday that it is notifying its affected members of the breach, in which an email containing names, member identification numbers, birth dates and phone numbers was accidently sent to an unauthorized person, spokeswoman Gina Pferdehirt said.

"We are contacting the members, and we really are sorry about this," she said.

No medical records, Social Security numbers or financial information was disclosed, she said. The breach occurred June 4 and was reported to federal authorities July 2 after the health system investigated the incident, Pferdehirt said. She could not say what the relationship was between UPMC and the person who received the information.

There have been 139 breaches of healthcare data so far this year, according to a Department of Health and Human Services database. Healthcare breaches are increasing because these records and financial information are more valuable to hackers for identity theft and fraud.

UPMC in May revealed that more than 2,000 patients' names, birth dates and Social Security numbers were stolen by an outside contractor. The contractor, who was fired and is under investigation by federal authorities, stole patient information from more than 40 healthcare providers across the country.

UPMC was the victim of data theft last year by hackers, who penetrated the health system's employee database and stole records of its 62,000 workers.

Separately, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association on Tuesday said it would provide identity protection services to all eligible members across the United States by the start of the new year. The move follows a breach at Anthem Inc., the nation's biggest Blue Cross health insurer, in which hackers stole sensitive information on about 80 million people, including about 52,000 Highmark Inc. members.

Alex Nixon is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7928 or anixon@tribweb.com.

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