Health insurer Centene Corp revealed on Monday, Jan. 25, that it is searching for missing hard drives containing the important personal and health information of about 950,000 individuals.
The St. Louis-based company said that it is currently conducting a comprehensive internal search for six missing hard drives that were not accounted for in its inventory of information technology (IT) assets.
The company said that the hard drives contain the data of people who received laboratory services between 2009 and 2015. The information includes names, addresses, birthdates, social security numbers and ID numbers.
Unwanted repercussions are at stake if the information goes to the wrong hands. Identity thieves, for instance, are known to exploit stolen information and use these for fraudulent transactions.
Centene, however, believes that the data has not been inappropriately used. It further said that the hard drives did not include financial or payment information.
In a statement, the company explained that it decided to make the announcement out of abundance of caution and transparency. It further noted that it has already informed clients and would be giving free credit and healthcare monitoring for those affected.
The company likewise said that it is reinforcing and reviewing procedures that are related to management of its IT assets.
"While we don't believe this information has been used inappropriately, out of abundance of caution and in transparency, we are disclosing an ongoing search for the hard drives," said Centene CEO Michael Neidorff. "The drives were a part of a data project using laboratory results to improve the health outcomes of our members."
Centene is a Fortune 500 company that offers services and programs to government-sponsored health care programs with focus on those who are under-insured and uninsured. The publicly traded company, in particular, focuses on Medicaid managed care and also offers services pharmacy benefits, behavioral and in-home health care and telehealth.
The company currently has a $6.8-billion pending deal to acquire Health Net, a movie that will potentially boost its already leading position in the industry.
