Personal data could be stolen for some Medicaid, CHIP participants in Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas and Florida

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — An insurance company providing services for state Medicaid agencies and the Children’s Health Insurance Program said some Louisiana residents' data might have been compromised in an online attack.

MCNA Insurance Co. said in a news release that it realized in early March that someone who wasn't authorized got access to some data systems. The company hired a security firm, which determined that a malicious code could have been added to the network. A criminal investigation started at that point.

The Georgia-based company determined that someone gained access to personal information, though not necessarily all information for all the people affected. The breach happened between Feb. 26, 2023, and March 7, 2023.

People who receive the following services from these state agencies could be affected:

• Louisiana Department of Health.
• Arkansas Department of Human Services.
• Texas Health and Human Services Commission.
• Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (Medicaid) and/or Florida Healthy Kids Corporation (CHIP).

Data that could be affected include:

• full names (and/or those of a parent or guardian)
• physical or mailing addresses
• dates of birth
• telephone numbers
• email addresses
• Social Security numbers
• driver's license or state ID numbers
• health insurance account information - account numbers, group numbers and plan or insurer name
• billing or claims records including services, appeals, etc.

Anyone who was affected will be notified. MCNA will offer free credit monitoring and identity theft protection. The company advises people to check credit reports, statements and insurance transactions for accuracy. Report unfamiliar charges with the account provider.

The company reportedly upgraded security and is monitoring protocols to prevent similar events.

For more information, call 1-888-220-5006 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. CT, Monday through Friday. The line will be closed on holidays.