Wrong families receive health care information
The sensitive information of more than 1,500 families enrolled in Alabama’s ALL Kids health care program was sent to the wrong families. The All Kids program provides health insurance to uninsured, low-income families.
What kind of personal data? Names, ages and Social Security numbers.
How many victims? 1,554 families.
Details: The information - sent by records processor Graphics and Mailing - was not leaked outside of the affected families, meaning some got each other’s data. The vendor blamed the mistake on a software glitch.
What was the response? The Alabama Department of Public Health sent victims notification letters, which included contacts at the Federal Trade Commission and credit reporting bureaus. The families who received wrong forms will receive blank renewal forms.
Quote: “While we regret the situation, it is confined. It was not a general release.” - John Wible, gneeral counsel for the health department.
Source: AL.com, Press-Register, “Personal information sent to wrong families,” Nov. 6.
You have to ask, when the person received the wrong information, what did they do with the form? Throw it away? Return it? Keep it? Make a copy of it? Now there is the potential for these children to have their identity stolen or to a lesser degree…”borrowed”. I don’t know how you rectify this situation, but it’s just too easy for somebody else to be careless with your personal information.