New West Health Services Investigates Incident

HELENA, Mont., Jan. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, New West Health Services d/b/a New West Medicare ("New West") announced that it has experienced an incident involving a New West laptop that was stolen from an off-site location. The laptop contained electronic files with personal information from past and present New West customers. The computer was password protected, and there is no evidence to suggest that the information stored on the laptop was the target of the theft or that any customer information has been accessed or misused.

Once it learned of the theft, New West took immediate action including initiating an internal investigation and notifying law enforcement. New West also retained Navigant, a leading national computer forensic firm, to assist in the investigation.

Based on the forensic investigation, New West believes that the laptop contained customers' names, addresses and, in certain instances, driver's license numbers and Social Security numbers or Medicare claim numbers. The laptop may have also contained limited information related to some individuals' payment of Medicare premiums, including electronic funds transfer information (bank account number, account holder name, account type and bank routing number) or credit card information (card holder name, credit card account number, expiration date and CVV ("Card Verification Value") number). Additionally, the laptop may have contained some customers' health information, including dates of birth, medical history and condition, diagnosis and/or prescription information.

New West has no indication that the data has been accessed or used inappropriately. However, out of an abundance of caution, New West is proactively mailing a notice to individuals who may have been affected by the incident and offering one year of complimentary credit monitoring and identity protection services to those individuals whose Social Security numbers were involved. New West regrets any concern this incident may cause.

New West understands the importance of protecting the privacy and security of its members' information and is taking steps to prevent this type of incident from occurring in the future. These steps include installing additional security on all company laptops, enhancing education for its employees, and strengthening its data security policies and practices.

More information for potentially affected individuals, including on ways to help protect themselves, is available on New West's website: https://www.newwestmedicare.com/securityupdate. New West has established a call center for individuals with questions. The call center can be reached at 877-802-1399 and is open Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. MST.

New West Health Services

New West Health Services, dba New West Medicare, is Montana's not-for-profit, provider sponsored health plan offering Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement plans. With our headquarters in Helena, operations center in Kalispell, and a regional sales office in Billings, we proudly serve the Medicare population in the state of Montana. For more information, visit: www.newwestmedicare.com/.

Contact:
Ryan O'Connell
406-457-2227
[email protected]

SOURCE New West Health Services

Related Links

https://www.newwestmedicare.com