State attorneys general send warnings of Change Healthcare breach urge residents to respond

pMultiple state attorney generals have sent notices informing residents about the Change Healthcare breach and urging them to enroll in the credit monitoring and identity theft protection the company is required to offer under HIPAA regulations ppThe notices have been covered by local news outlets in multiple states with attorneys general assuming many people in every state will be impacted given the cyberattack resulted in personal information and medical records of an estimated onethird of Americans being put up for sale on the dark webppThe recent data breach at Change Healthcare is unprecedented and could affect millions of Minnesotans Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a statement I encourage everyone to avail themselves of the free credit monitoring and identity theft protections being offered by Change Healthcare and to be on the lookout for signs that bad actors have access to their personal and medical informationppOther state attorneys general have made similar statements with some warning that although the initial ransomware attack on Change Healthcare happened in February residents should still remain vigilant ppTypically when there is a data breach impacting Nevada residents consumers receive an individualized letter or email if their data was impacted However Change Healthcare has not yet provided individual notice to consumers a statement from Nevada Attorney General Aaron D Fords office read Given the delay between the data breach and notification to those impacted Attorney General Ford is publicizing not just the breach but also resources including the offer that Change Healthcare has provided to the publicppChange Healthcare recently posted a notice on its website alerting patients that their medical records may have been taken by hackers along with insurance information and personal contact information including social security numbers and passport information ppPatients are expected to receive individual notices in the coming months as Change Healthcare will begin sending them in the near future ppChad is an awardwinning writer and editor with over 15 years of experience working in media He has a decadelong professional background in healthcare working as a writer and in public relationsppppp