February 13, 2015

Attention Brokers:

We are committed to keeping you informed about your clients' health plan information. That's why you are receiving advance notice of the following security update we are sending to our employers later this afternoon. If you have any questions about this notice, please contact your Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania sales professional or your Health Care Reform Program Manager and Broker Liaison, Kerri McKeown.

 

Dear Valued Customer,

 

You and your employees may be concerned because Anthem Inc., one of our country's largest health insurers, experienced a significant data breach, affecting up to 80 million members. Please know the data breach does not affect the data systems of Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania or members who have received medical services within our local provider networks.

 

While Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania is not directly affiliated with Anthem, some of our members' information may have been compromised because BlueCard® information was accessed. Anthem and Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania have an arrangement known as BlueCard. This means that our members can receive medical care when they travel to a state that Anthem serves, which includes California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin.

 

We are working closely with Anthem and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association to determine if any of our members were affected. However, because of the size of this incident, identifying and subsquently notifying affected members is not something that can be done quickly. Once we are sure if the personal information of any of your employees was included in this cyber-attack, you and any affected employees will be notified.  

 

In the meantime, Anthem has set up a website to provide information about the data breach, free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services at anthemfacts.com. Members can visit the website to learn how to enroll in these services before receiving a written notification.

 

The privacy and security of your and your employees' information is important to us. We will continue to update you as we learn more and have new information to share. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact your Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania sales professional.

 

Sincerely,

Kent Davidson  

 

Kent R. Davidson

Vice President, Sales

Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania