Business
Humana responds to ID breaches
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted June 26, 2006
Humana announced that it's taking additional steps to safeguard the personal health records and financial information of its 3.4 million Medicare health plan members.
The Louisville, Ky.-based insurer said it is strengthening policies related to computer software maintenance and technical controls protecting the privacy of members' information. Also the insurer said it's increasing education on privacy issues for its associates and sales agents.
The action was prompted after a company employee called up the Social Security numbers and other personal information for nearly 17,000 Medicare beneficiaries on a hotel computer and then failed to delete the information. An auditor for the Dept. of Health and Human Services' Office of the Inspector General came across the information a few weeks later on the same hotel computer in Baltimore. In an unrelated event, copies of paper applications were stolen from an independent agent's vehicle.
Both Medicare and Humana officials said no one's personal security was compromised.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2006/06/26/bibf0626.htm.
