Griffin: ‘Because Change Healthcare has not yet provided notice to individuals, the safest course of action is for Arkansans to use some of the resources available such as free credit monitoring’

LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin today issued the following statement alerting Arkansans to the availability of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services after Change Healthcare’s February data breach:

“In March, I launched an investigation into the cyberattack against Change Healthcare, a unit of UnitedHealth Group, Inc., to determine whether Arkansans’ confidential medical and personal information was compromised and whether other laws were violated.

“Unfortunately, after publicly stating that the data breach could impact up to one-third of all Americans, Change Healthcare has not yet provided individual notice to consumers. The delay in notifying Arkansans affected by the breach is unacceptable, and I am issuing this alert regarding Change Healthcare’s public offer of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services.

“Because Change Healthcare has not yet provided notice to individuals, the safest course of action is for Arkansans to use some of the resources available such as free credit monitoring.”

Change Healthcare 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.

Change Healthcare is offering all Arkansas residents who believe they may have been impacted free credit monitoring and identity theft protections for two years. The dedicated website and call center will not be able to provide details to individuals about whether their data was impacted, and Change Healthcare has not determined the actual number and identity of affected consumers. Griffin encourages Arkansans to use the following resources Change Healthcare has offered:

• For information on the breach, visit http://changecybersupport.com.
  
• To enroll in credit monitoring, visit http://changecybersupport.com or call (888) 846-4705.
  
• For additional support from Change Healthcare, call (866) 262-5342.

Griffin also encourages consumers to be aware of potential warning signs that someone is using their medical information. The signs include:

• A bill from their doctor for services that they did not receive;
  
• Errors in their Explanation of Benefits statements;
  
• A call from a debt collector about a medical debt that they do not owe;
  
• Medical debt collection notices on their credit report that they do not recognize;
  
• An unexpected notice from their health insurance company indicating they have reached their benefit limit;
  
• Denial of insurance coverage because their medical records show a pre-existing condition that they do not have.

For a printer-friendly version of this alert, click here.

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