Episource is notifying hundreds of thousands of those that their well being information was stolen

[ad_1] Medical billing large Episource is notifying hundreds of thousands of individuals throughout the US that their private and well being data was stolen in a cyberattack earlier this yr.

The breach impacts greater than 5.4 million folks, in response to an inventory with the U.S. Division of Well being and Human Companies, making it one of many largest healthcare breaches of the yr thus far.

Episource, owned by medical insurance large UnitedHealth Group’s subsidiary Optum, gives billing adjustment to the medical doctors, hospitals, and different organizations that work within the healthcare business. As such, the corporate handles giant quantities of sufferers’ private and medical information to course of claims by means of their medical insurance.

In notices filed in California and Vermont on Friday, Episource mentioned a felony was capable of “see and take copies” of affected person and member information from its programs throughout the weeklong breach ending February 6.

The stolen data contains private data, corresponding to names, postal and e-mail addresses, and cellphone numbers, in addition to protected well being information, together with medical report numbers, and information referring to medical doctors, diagnoses, medicines, take a look at outcomes, imaging, care, and different remedy. The stolen information additionally comprises medical insurance data, like well being plans, insurance policies, and member numbers.

Episource didn't describe the character of the incident, however Sharp Healthcare, one of many corporations that works with Episource and was affected by the cyberattack, informed its prospects that the Episource hack was attributable to ransomware.

That is the most recent cybersecurity incident to hit UnitedHealth lately.

Change Healthcare, one of many largest corporations within the U.S. healthcare business that processes billions of well being transactions every year, was hacked by a ransomware gang in February 2024, resulting in the theft of greater than 190 million Individuals’ private and well being data. The cyberattack was the most important healthcare information breach in U.S. historical past.