State mail error results in Medicaid data breach; 5,800 Utah recipients impacted

Stock image | Image by Juststock/iStock/Getty Images Plus, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — An estimated 5,800 Utah residents who are Medicaid members will be receiving personalized notifications from the Department of Health and Human Services after some benefit letters were grouped incorrectly and placed in an envelope addressed to a different household.

For illustrative purposes only |Stock image courtesy of Family Healthcare, St. George News

Utah State Mail discovered the error on May 8. Once the issue was identified, State Mail immediately stopped the mail preparation process and notified DHHS, according to the department’s website.

Since that time, DHHS has worked to identify members impacted by this error and generate the individualized letters to notify them of the error. These letters will be sent over the next two weeks.

The notification to members includes:

  • A description of the mailing problem.
  • A list of the data elements included in the letters.
  • Action members can take to monitor their healthcare accounts.
  • Contact information for questions and concerns.

Nearly 200 of these Medicaid members also had their Medicare health insurance claim number, which for some may have been their Social Security number, listed on the letter. These members will have that information listed in their notification and will be provided the opportunity to enroll in a credit monitoring service at no cost. No other financial identifiers were included in the original letters, the website said.

If members have questions about the notification they receive regarding the Medicaid benefit mailing error, they can contact a DHHS health program representative at 1-866-608-9422.

According to the DDHS website:

DHHS is committed to quality and transparency. The protection of patient information is critical to DHHS and Medicaid has worked with Client Network Services, a business associate, to correct this error in the system. DHHS and CNSI have worked together to increase system testing and enhance quality protocols.

The department also said that although this error occurred due to system programming and was not the result of an external group accessing state systems, it meets the federal requirements of a reportable data breach.

The DHHS will also submit a breach report to the Office for Civil Rights within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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