Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor is sharing consumer protection reminders and raising awareness about the availability of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services following an unprecedented data breach in February at Change Healthcare.
Change Healthcare, a unit of UnitedHealth, is the nation’s biggest electronic data clearinghouse. Change Healthcare's technological infrastructure is used by tens of thousands of providers, pharmacies, and insurers to verify insurance, confirm pre-authorization of procedures or services, exchange insurance claim data, and perform other administrative tasks essential to the delivery of health care.
The February cyberattack interrupted operations for thousands of doctors’ offices, hospitals, and pharmacies. It also resulted in Americans’ sensitive health and personal data being leaked onto the dark web - a hidden portion of the Internet where cyber criminals buy, sell, and track personal information. The actual number and identity of affected patients is unknown.
Change Healthcare has publicly stated that the data breach could impact up to 1/3 of all Americans. Accordingly, Attorney General Taylor wants to make sure Alaskans are aware of the breach and the resources available to them, including the offer that Change Healthcare has provided to the public.
“You may not have heard of Change Healthcare before, but that does not mean your data was not affected,” said Attorney General Taylor. “Your provider or insurer may have been a Change Healthcare customer. I encourage Alaskans to take advantage of the resources described in this release.”
Change Healthcare is offering free credit monitoring and identity theft protections for two years for all Alaska residents who believe their identification information may have been affected. The dedicated website and call center will not be able to provide specific details about whether personal data was impacted but can guide consumers through getting set up for the free credit monitoring and identity theft protections. Because of the wide impact of this breach, the safest course of action is to assume that your information has been involved.
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