Contractor Loses Personal Information of 2.9M Georgia Medicaid, PeachCare Beneficiaries

A compact disc containing data for nearly 2.9 million Georgia Medicaid and PeachCare beneficiaries has been lost in shipping, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Affiliated Computer Services, a company contracted to store data for the state, during a recent shipment lost the CD of information containing the names, Social Security numbers, birth dates and addresses of beneficiaries who were enrolled in the programs over a four-year period ending in June 2006, according to Dena Brummer, a spokesperson for the state Department of Community Health. The information did not include medical records. There has been no evidence that the information has been used for identity theft or other illicit purposes. ACS spokesperson David Shapiro said, "We take any data loss very seriously." Lillie Coney, associated director of the Washington-based Electronic Privacy Information Center, said, "People on Medicaid, including children, don't have the resources to monitor their credit. It makes them more vulnerable" (Miller/Hendrick, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 4/10).