People who changed their address with Highmark before August might not have received utilization letters that were sent between August and February, the Pittsburgh-based health insurer said Friday.
The letters, which are required to be sent to people as part of the coverage approval process, might have been mailed to the wrong address because of a database update that affected letters mailed since August.
Highmark will notify by mail those who were affected, according to Highmark spokesperson Anthony Matrisciano. He did not have an estimate of the total number of members affected but said the majority had Medicare Advantage plans.
The letters included names, addresses and member identification numbers. Some of the letters also might have included a reference number, employer group name and number, date of birth, service date range, service or procedure code and description, medication name and dosage, and provider or facility name.
The letters were not bills but contained information about care management programs that Highmark offers. Coverage should not be affected, Matrisciano said.
“Highmark has not discovered any evidence to date that information mailed to outdated addresses because of this incident has been used fraudulently,” Matrisciano’s statement said.
The company has changed the database to flag the current active address for members, it said.
Matrisciano encouraged members to regularly review their account statements and explanations of benefit forms to check for unauthorized activity and to report it if they find any suspicious activity. If they have recently moved and want to confirm their address is correct in Highmark’s system, they can call customer service using the number on the back of their insurance card.
