NEW YORK, NY (December 19, 2012) — EmblemHealth is notifying approximately 1,800 PPO members about a privacy breach that occurred in November 2012 and offering those affected free credit monitoring for the next 12 months.
On November 26, 2012, EmblemHealth discovered it had inadvertently included individual personal information on postcards that were sent to remind members about immunizations recommended for their children. The postcards were mailed on November 13, 2012, and addressed "To the Parent(s)/Guardian(s) of," and contained the child's name and address along with the subscriber's Social Security number embedded within a series of other mailing-related numbers.
"Protecting our members' personal information is a responsibility we take very seriously," said Michele Podolak, Vice President, Customer Service for EmblemHealth. "We have taken immediate steps to modify the member mailing process to prevent this from happening again."
Upon discovery, the incident was promptly brought to the attention of EmblemHealth's Compliance and Legal departments, and immediate steps were then taken to ensure that no other mailings had been affected, and to identify and directly notify the members impacted by this mailing. EmblemHealth is not aware that anyone's information has been inappropriately accessed or improperly used as a result of this incident.
The company is offering affected members free credit monitoring and $1 million identity theft insurance coverage for the next 12 months. EmblemHealth members who believe they received one of these notifications and have questions should call AllClear ID Customer Service at 1-877-615-3771, or write to EmblemHealth’s Corporate Compliance Department at PO Box 2878, New York, NY 10116-2878.
About EmblemHealth
EmblemHealth, Inc. provides quality health care coverage and administrative services to approximately 2.8 million people. Groups and individuals can choose from a variety of PPO, EPO and HMO plans, as well as coverage for prescription drugs and dental and vision care. We offer a choice of networks, including quality doctors and other health care professionals throughout the region, leading acute care hospitals across the tristate area, and physicians and hospitals across all 50 states.
