December 8, 2023

On August 14, 2023, VNS Health Health Plans (“VNS”) became aware of an incident involving unauthorized access to employee email accounts. VNS is committed to protecting the privacy and security of the information we maintain. As such, we are providing details of the incident, our response, and resources available to impacted individuals to help protect their personal health information from possible misuse.

What Happened?  Unauthorized access to certain employee email accounts and associated files took place between August 10, 2023, and August 14, 2023.  Upon learning of the incident, VNS secured the accounts involved, commenced an internal investigation, and worked with a third-party cybersecurity firm to determine the scope of the unauthorized access.  On September 14, 2023, the ongoing investigation discovered that the incident may have involved access to some files containing patient information.  Significantly, the incident appears to have been related to attempts to defraud individual VNS personnel, and we have no reason to believe it was for the purpose of obtaining member information.

What Information Was Affected? VNS Health has conducted an extensive review and analysis of the potentially accessed files, and has now determined these files may have contained some or all of the following information: names, dates of birth, addresses, phone numbers, diagnosis and treatment information, and health insurance information. Please note that not all data elements were involved for all impacted individuals.  

What VNS Is Doing. VNS takes this incident very seriously and sincerely regrets any concern this may cause. To help prevent something like this from happening again, we have implemented additional safeguards and measures to further protect and monitor our systems, including technical systems enhancements, updated security policies and protocols, and staff education.

What Affected Individuals Can Do. For members whose information may have been involved in the incident, we recommend that they review the statements they receive from VNS and their healthcare providers and immediately contact VNS or the provider that issued the statement if they see services that they did not receive. Should you have questions, please contact 888-983-0692, Monday through Friday, at 9:00 AM-9:00 PM Eastern Standard Time.