Health Alliance Medical Plans
Your Personal Info Could Be
Exposed Online After
This Hospital Breach
Breach Description
Health Alliance Medical Plans, an insurance company based in Champaign, Illinois, experienced a data breach due to a third-party vendor incident. The breach was first discovered by one of Health Alliance’s vendors, Ontrack, who informed them on December 20, 2023, that a subcontractor, Keenan & Associates, had a network disruption on August 27, 2023. Keenan & Associates confirmed that an unauthorized party accessed certain records on their system, which included information pertaining to Health Alliance customers[1][4].
Personal Information Involved
The types of personal information compromised in the breach included:
- Names
- Social Security numbers
- Addresses
- Member numbers
- Dates of birth
- Health coverage information[1][4]
Company Response
Health Alliance responded to the breach by:
- Reviewing the compromised files to determine the scope of the leaked information and which consumers were impacted
- Sending out data breach notification letters to affected individuals on February 2, 2024
- Posting a website notice discussing the incident[1]
Specific Details
- The network disruption occurred on August 27, 2023, and Health Alliance was informed on December 20, 2023
- The breach did not impact Health Alliance’s computer systems directly but did affect their members
- Health Alliance completed their review of the compromised files on January 23, 2024[1]
Number of People Affected
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights Breach Portal, 6,900 individuals were affected by the Health Alliance Medical Plans breach[12]. However, other sources mention that as many as 264,000 individuals may have had their personal information compromised[8][10]. The discrepancy in numbers could be due to different aspects of the breach or additional findings as the investigation continued.
Victims of the breach are advised to remain vigilant for signs of identity theft and to take steps to secure their personal information. Legal assistance is also available for those who received a data breach notification and wish to explore their options[4][10].
Citations:
- https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/health-alliance-files-notice-of-third-9082568
- https://radiologybusiness.com/topics/health-it/enterprise-imaging/pacs/alliance-healthcare-services-pacs-breach-lawsuit
- https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/health-alliance-files-notice-of-third-9082568/
- https://www.myinjuryattorney.com/health-alliance-keenan-and-associates-data-breach-class-action-investigation-and-lawsuit-assistance/
- https://www.healthalliance.org/documents/85
- https://www.healthalliance.org/documents/866
- https://healthitsecurity.com/features/this-years-largest-healthcare-data-breaches
- https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/healthalliance-notifies-264k-patients-1798361/
- https://www.healthalliance.org/Cms/Media?uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthalliance.org%2Fmedia%2FResources%2Fpolicies-and-procedures.pdf
- https://www.thelyonfirm.com/blog/healthalliance-data-breach-investigation/
- https://www.myinjuryattorney.com/health-alliance-data-breach-class-action-investigation-and-lawsuit-assistance/
- https://ocrportal.hhs.gov/ocr/breach/breach_report.jsf
- https://www.healthalliance.org/media/resources/medicare-privacy-practices.pdf
- https://www.healthalliance.org