Company believes data lost in postal system
CLEVELAND, Oct. 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Eleven computer disks
containing personal information on thousands of Ohio retirees are missing
and are believed to be somewhere in the US Postal Service, Medical Mutual
of Ohio announced today.
The disks contain member data for five retiree groups, which include
the School Employee Retirement System (SERS) and its employees, the State
Teachers Retirements System (STRS), Ohio Police and Fire Fund and the Ohio
Highway Patrol Retirement System. Upwards of 36,000 members may be
potentially affected, the company said.
The Cleveland-based health insurer said it announced the potential loss
and investigation today in order to notify retiree members in the quickest
way possible.
Medical Mutual said it was notified by the retiree systems when the
disks failed to arrive at their Columbus offices. The disks were contained
in packages routinely mailed monthly by Medical Mutual for claims
reconciliation purposes to the affected parties' central offices in
Columbus from the health insurer's Columbus offices.
Jared Chaney, Medical Mutual chief communications officer and executive
vice president, said the company notified the US Postal Service as soon as
it discovered the disks did not reach their destination and the Postal
Service launched an investigation.
"We still believe the disks are somewhere in the postal system and we
are doing everything in our power to help locate the missing disks," Chaney
said. "We are confident that we will locate them. We ask Ohio Retirement
System (ORS) members not be alarmed. Our investigation, so far, indicates
that insufficient postage was placed on the envelopes, therefore we believe
they are likely to still be safe within the postal system," he added.
While the investigation continues, Chaney said Medical Mutual is taking
stringent measures to ensure the security of potentially affected
customers. "If the disks are not located, Medical Mutual has a customer
protection plan in place and we are ready to provide credit monitoring
services, free credit reports, and a hotline to answer our customers'
questions and help with resolving potential fraud," said Chaney.
Chaney strongly emphasized that no data appears to have fallen into the
wrong hands. "It is very important to stress that, to date and to the best
of our knowledge, no personal information has been compromised in any way,"
he said. "Medical Mutual has always taken our customers' security matters
very seriously and will continue to do so."
ORS members with questions may call 800-854-8139, the customer service
number that is on the back of their Medical Mutual ID card.
Founded in 1934, Medical Mutual of Ohio is the oldest and largest
health insurance company based in Ohio. The company serves its customers
through high-quality, affordable group and personal health insurance plans,
and third-party administrative services to self-insured group customers.
For more information, visit the company's award-winning Web site at
http://www.MedMutual.com.
SOURCE Medical Mutual of Ohio
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Related links:
http://www.medmutual.com
CONTACT:
Ed Byers, Manager, Media Relations, Medical
Mutual of Ohio, +1-216-687-2685, ed.byers@mmoh.com
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