Another Health System Hacked

Banner Health, a non-profit organization that runs a chain of hospitals, said this month that hackers gained unauthorized access to millions of patient, physician, and other records — the latest in a series of data breaches that spotlights the growing risk of medical ID theft.

The Phoenix-based group said it notified 3.7 million patients, health plan members, food and beverage customers, doctors, and healthcare providers about the attack, which occurred between June 23 and July 7.

Banner Health — which operates in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada, and Wyoming — said hackers accessed computer systems that process payment records at some Banner Health locations, the company said.

Security experts say the case points up the dangers of medical identity theft, which is on the rise in the U.S. According to a recent report by the Medical Identity Fraud Alliance, 2.3 million Americans are victimized by medical ID thieves annually, with total damages adding up to $20 billion. And the rate is growing by about 22 percent each year.

MIFA noted one-fifth of the victims suffered a decrease in their credit score, a third lost their health insurance, and the average cost to resolve those crimes cost consumers $13,500.

According to Twila Brase, president of the Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom — a Minnesota-based organization dedicated to protecting patient privacy rights, such cases are being fueled at least in part by healthcare reform changes pushed by Obamacare requiring healthcare providers to convert paper medical records to digital files.

Such records can be stolen more easily and used to file fraudulent health claims with insurers, Medicare, and Medicaid.

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