I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
In late March, an employee of a subcontractor for the company that processes claims and provides dental benefits for the State’s Medicaid program, filed a stolen car report for a vehicle whose trunk contained an ”unencrypted” laptop loaded with patient information. That stolen car has prompted the New Mexico Human Services Department start notifying nearly 10,000 users of the government’s low-income health insurance program of a potential for ID theft.
The patient information in the laptop included name, health plan identification number, which in some cases is the individual’s social security number, and a provider identification number but not the name of the provider, the agency said.
The agency sent out a message today saying that it was in the process of notifying 9,500 New Mexicans who use its Medicaid Salud plan of a possible security breach.
The agency has set up ways for those potentially affected to learn more:
In addition to sending member notification letters, the agency has set up a toll-free call line through DentaQuest, 1-877-453-8424, to take questions from individuals who may have been affected by this incident. The call line will be staffed from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. MDT, Monday through Friday.
For individuals who are interested in placing a fraud alert on their accounts; instructions are provided in the member notification letter or individuals can call the toll- free number above or visit the HSD web site at www.hsd.state.nm.us.
The agency reported that “The computer was password protected but otherwise did not have safeguards to prevent unauthorized access to the information. At this time, the stolen car and laptop have not been recovered and it is not known whether the information on the laptop has been accessed.”
The agency said it was launching its own investigation. In addition, the theft and security breach has been reported to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
