Attorney General Richard Blumenthal launched a second investigation within a week of a health insurance carrier”™s loss of private information ”“ this time Health Net Inc., which has its Northeast headquarters in Shelton.
According to Blumenthal, Health Net lost data on nearly 450,000 customers and informed his office six months after the breach, which involved the disappearance of an unencrypted computer hard drive from the Shelton office.
Health Net confirmed the incident, and offered free credit monitoring to impacted members for two years. The company said it has not received reports of suspicious activity as a result of the loss.
“We apologize for any inconvenience or concern this may cause our members,” Health Net stated in a message posted to its Web site. “We are doing everything we can to determine what information was on that disk, notify everyone affected as quickly as possible, provide the right tools to remedy any problems that may arise and answer any and every question you might have.”
Arizona-based Health Net is in the process of selling its Northeast operations to UnitedHealth Group Inc., which owns Trumbull-based Oxford Health Plans Inc.
Earlier in November, Blumenthal announced a similar inquiry into the loss of physician”™s personal information by the Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield division of WellPoint Inc.?“Another day, another data breach, but companies still don”™t get it: personal information is like cash and should be guarded with equal care,” Blumenthal said, in a written statement. “Casual and cavalier attitudes toward data protection and breaches are intolerable and must stop. I will fight to compel companies to fully safeguard personal information, quickly inform consumers of breaches and properly protect them when losses occur.”
Some 1,500 auto body shops in Connecticut won a $14.7 million class-action verdict against The Hartford Fire Insurance Co., after arguing the carrier wrongfully steered policyholders to a network of repair shops that had agreed to keep wages below prevailing rates.
Auto body shops filed suit in Stamford Superior Court in 2003, arguing The Hartford was violating Connecticut”™s Unfair Trade Practices Act.
Lead plaintiffs included the Auto Body Association of Connecticut and Artie”™s Auto Body of Fairfield, which were represented by Bernstein Liebhard L.L.P. of New York City.
The Connecticut Department of Labor issued stop orders to several subcontractors building a $17 million clubhouse at the Patterson Club in Fairfield, after the companies failed to produce documentation that their employees had workers compensation insurance.
In 2007, Connecticut enacted a law authorizing the DOL to freeze work at any site until companies can demonstrate they are in compliance with workplace laws.
In protest of the violations at the Patterson Club, the New England Regional Council of Carpenters conducted a leaflet campaign in front of the Patterson Club earlier this month, with union members accompanied by a 12-foot tall inflatable rat holding a golf club.
