Centegra Health System Data Breach (2015)

Centegra Health System recently notified 2,929 patients that a mailing error may have exposed some of their personal information. On November 2, at the vendor MedAssets, a setting on automatic mail filing equipment accidentally was changed, spokesperson Michelle Green told the Northwest Herald. This led to two Centegra billing statements to be put in one envelope. "Centegra Health System and MedAssets apologize for this error and are committed to fully protecting patient privacy," Green said. "Centegra is working closely with MedAssets to ensure it has taken every step necessary to address the incident." The medical bills reportedly included patient names, addresses, account numbers, original account balance, third-party payment, billing discounts and adjustments, and the amount owed. Hospital service dates, a summary of services provided and related charges were also included. Affected medical bills were sent between Nov. 2 and Nov. 6., while MedAssets informed Centegra of the error on Nov. 10. Green explained that even though 6,000 Centegra patients were affected by the error, half received two billing statements. One was for their own hospital service, while the second detailed another patient's service. There is no reason to believe that the exposed information was inappropriately used, she said.