Blue Cross: 215,000 Illinois residents may have been affected by data breach

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois officials said they will send notices to about 215,000 Illinois residents whose personal information may have been compromised, because of the data breach disclosed by Anthem Inc. earlier this month.

“A small percentage of these affected BCBSIL members had their Social Security numbers exposed,” said Mary Ann Schultz, spokeswoman for Blue Cross and Blue Shield in a statement. “BCBSIL members who live out of state and members of other Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans who reside in Illinois are not included in these numbers.”

Blue Cross officials said personal information about their members, including Social Security numbers, addresses, dates of birth and telephone numbers may have been affected. Medical and credit card information was not exposed, said Mary Ann Schultz, spokeswoman for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois.

Members who were affected should expect formal notification by mail in the coming weeks, Schultz said.

All individuals who were affected by the breach may enroll immediately for 24 months of credit monitoring and identity repair services through AnthemFacts.com, or by calling 877-263-7995 toll-free.

Anthem, the country’s second-largest health insurer and a carrier of Blue Cross Blue Shield policies in certain states, confirmed earlier this month that a sophisticated hacker stole information from as many as 80 million customers.

Illinois isn’t one of the 14 states that Anthem operates in. Health Care Service Operation runs Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois plans, but Schultz noted that a person could have a BCBSIL card and live in Illinois. Yet, they may have sought services in Missouri or Kentucky run by Anthem.

“To a patient, they don’t know the difference — they just present their card,” she said.