Missing Disk Held Info on 2.9 Million Georgia Residents

Atlanta - A disk containing the personal information of 2.9 million Georgia residents has gone missing, state health officials say.

The disk holds the full names, addresses, Social Security numbers, birth dates, member identification numbers and dates of eligibility for Medicaid recipients and beneficiaries of a state-run children’s health care service called PeachCare for Kids.

In the wrong hands, the information could provide the basis for online fraud, officials say.

Dallas-based Affiliated Computer Services (ACS), a claims processor, reported the loss to the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH), according to published reports.

The disk apparently was in transit from Georgia to Maryland when it went missing on March 22.

Information on the disk was compiled over the last four years and included data for some people no longer in the programs, state DCH officials say.

ACS is providing written notice to members whose information may have been compromised and will help monitor their credit reports, according to state officials. That help could include applications for free credit reports, the state says.

DCH also reports that it has sent word of the incident to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights, the Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs and the Attorney General of Georgia.

The loss marks ACS’s third data breach in the last year, published reports say.

Source: Georgia Department of Community Health

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