Blue Cross blames vendor for customer information breach

File photo / The BlueCross BlueShield logo is seen on the outside of its former headquarters building.
File photo / The BlueCross BlueShield logo is seen on the outside of its former headquarters building.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island says a vendor error lead to a breach of health care information that affected more than 1,500 people.

The Providence Journal reports that the insurer says the vendor was supposed to combine health care service summaries for members on the same policy to lower the amount of summaries they were receiving.

However, Blue Cross says some summaries were sent to the wrong member in the same household or on the same family policy.

Blue Cross says Social Security numbers and dates of birth were not listed, and no one outside of a family member or a person on the family policy received the summaries.

The insurer says it has gone back to sending individual summaries until it finds a long-term solution.

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