Premera cyber attack update

Premera, a health plan in the Pacific Northwest, announced a cyber attack resulting in unauthorized access to Premera’s information technology (IT) system. The attack affects all of Premera’s health plans, including Premera BlueCross and LifeWise.

Some members of other Blue Cross Blue Shield plans, including Regence, have also been affected. That’s because each independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association participates in a program called BlueCard that allows members to receive in-network benefits when seeking medical care in another Blue plan’s service area. A doctor or hospital could have submitted personal information to Premera to receive payment if a Regence member received care in a service area where Premera operates (Alaska and Washington).

Affected member notifications

Premera is in the process of officially notifying affected Regence members. Regence alerted affected employer groups and members ahead of the Premera notification. A data error in the mail file generated by Regence resulted in some members receiving letters with mismatched names and addresses. If you receive such a letter, please mark it “return to sender” and drop it in the mail or destroy it. Please contact our customer service team at 1-855-770-0004 if you have questions.

Committed to protecting personal information

We understand the worry and concern that an incident like this causes. While Regence’s information system was not hacked or affected by the cyber attack on Premera, our information security team along with third-party experts continues to closely monitor our systems for any signs of malicious activity. No evidence of compromise has been identified.

Collectively, Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies are committed to doing everything possible to ensure the security and privacy of our customers against those who are intent on stealing personal information. Staying ahead of these very serious threats has been, and will continue to be, a top priority for the Blue Cross Blue Shield system.

For more information on the steps Premera is taking in response to this incident, including signing up for free credit protection services, visit www.premeraupdate.com.