True Health New Mexico will resolve claims that it failed to protect patient data arising from a 2021 data breach with a class action settlement. The settlement terms will benefit individuals whose personal identifiers and/or health information were compromised by a 5th October 2021 data breach. These individuals must have received a notification from Tue Health New Mexico regarding that. According to the plaintiffs, True Health New Mexico couldn’t protect its sensitive information from a ransomware attack that took place on October 2021. This attack compromised the identifiers alongside their protected health information. Around 63000 patients were affected by this incident.
Settlement website – THNMSettlement.com
Objection deadline – 04/14/2023
Exclusion deadline – 04/14/2023
Claim Form –https://www.thnmsettlement.com/Home/SubmitClaim
Deadline for submitting the claim –08/14/2023
Final Hearing date – 05/10/2023
Settlement amount – Undisclosed
Potential claim amount – $5,250
Proof of purchase – Documents of data breach-related losses and expenses
Popular health insurance provider True Health New Mexico discontinued its healthcare plans offered in New Mexico at the end of 2022. Phishing occurred took place on 5th October 2021 wherein cybercriminals gained access to obtain the PI/PII of both customers and employees of True Health. The information which was compromised includes the date of birth, name, patient account or medical record number, and clinical or limited treatment information like medications, diagnosis, provider, treatment location, and type of treatment. The plaintiffs alleged that True Health failed to protect the sensitive credentials of its employees and customers.
Although True Health hasn’t admitted any wrongdoing, they have agreed to pay an undisclosed settlement amount to resolve all these allegations. Under the settlement terms, class members are eligible to receive reimbursement of up to $250 for data-breach-related expenses like bank fees, credit-related costs, communication charges, etc. They can also claim up to five hours of lost time at $20 per hour. The class members who incurred extraordinary expenses on the data breach are eligible to receive higher payments ranging up to $5000 for the actual spending. All unreimbursed and documented monetary losses which were caused by identity theft or fraud caused by this data breach will also be covered up to the ceiling of $5000 for each member. Three additional hours of unreimbursed lost time will also be included in this reimbursement and compensated at $20 per hour.
Two years of three-bureau credit monitoring and identity theft insurance offered through Equifax have also been included under the terms of the settlement. Class members are required to submit a claim form to benefit from this. The credit monitoring and payments shall be permitted once the final approval is received from the court on resolving all appeals.