ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Victims of a February healthcare data breach are urged to take advantage of consumer protection resources shared by Minnesota officials.
The breach targeted Change Healthcare, a unit of UnitedHealth, which is used by thousands of pharmacies, providers, and insurers to perform administrative tasks. Minnesota state officials point out that Change Healthcare publicly stated the breach could impact up to a third of Americans.
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The Minnesota Attorney General's Office shared multiple ways that consumers can safeguard their information following the data breach.
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Those resources include two years of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection offered by Change Healthcare for Minnesota residents who believe they may have been impacted by the breach. State officials say the safest course of action is for everyone to assume their information is involved in the breach because Change Healthcare has not yet provided notice to people they know were impacted.
More information can be found at changecybersupport.com. Consumers can also enroll in credit monitoring through IDX with the changecybersupport.com link or call 1-888-846-4705. More support from Change Healthcare can be found by calling 1-866-262-5342. State officials add that neither these numbers nor the website can provide information on whether someone's data is breached.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) shared possible warning signs that someone is using another person's medical information:
- Getting a medical bill for services not received.
- Errors in Explanation of Benefits statements.
- Calls from medical debt collectors for medical debts not owed.
- Unrecognized medical debt collection notices on credit reports.
- Health insurance providers saying a client has reached their benefit limit or is denied coverage because of a nonexistent pre-existing condition.
Consumers can also consider freezing their credit, which prevents creditors, such as banks or lenders, from accessing a person's credit report. This also prevents identity thieves from taking out loans or credit cards. A credit bureau must, by law, allow anyone to place, temporarily lift or remove a credit freeze for free. Anyone who chooses this course of action would have to freeze their credit with each bureau; including Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.
Attorney General Keith Ellison released the following statement:
"The recent data breach at Change Healthcare is unprecedented and could affect millions of Minnesotans. I encourage everyone to avail themselves of the free credit monitoring and identity theft protections being offered by Change Healthcare, and to be on the lookout for signs that bad actors have access to their personal and medical information."