On May 5, 2022, a member of Partnership HealthPlan of California (“PHC”) filed a class action lawsuit in Humboldt County Superior Court challenging PHC’s failure to adequately store and protect sensitive medical information of up to 850,000 enrollees. Among other things, the Complaint alleges violations of the Information Practices Act of 1977; the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act; Article I, Section 1 of the California Constitution (Invasion of Privacy); California Business and Professions Code § 17200 et seq. (Unfair and Unlawful Business Practices); and, requests Declaratory Relief. A copy of the lawsuit is linked here.
PHC, to date, has failed to provide notice of this breach to consumers, or even acknowledge a massive data breach occurred. When compared to the data reported by HHS Office of Civil Rights for the last 24 months, this would be the second largest health plan data breach in the United States.
A link to Whatley Kallas’s previous article regarding the PHC breach can be found here.
If you believe you have been affected by the PHC Breach, please contact us at 1-800-745-8153.