HealthNet has been sending letters out to current and former clients notifying them that it lost medical and financial data on 1.5 million customers in May. The News-Times of Danbury, Conn. reports HealthNet sat on the news until recently.

The News-Times reports:

In the letter sent to its customers, Health Net said the information covered the period from 2002 to mid-2009. Once it discovered the loss, it hired forensic investigators to study the extent of the loss before informing authorities and the customers involved.

The investigation determined the disk drive not only contained basic patient information, like Social Security numbers, that could be used in identity theft, but also “possibly your protected health and financial information,” the letter said.

“Fortunately, the files on the missing disk drive were not saved in a format that can be easily accessible and, therefore, we believe the risk of harm to you is low,” the letter said.

The letter also says it will offer affected customers identity theft and credit protection until December 2011.

What does HealthNet need to do to make up for the gaffe?

Health Net customers’ medical, financial data missing [NewsTimes]
(Thanks, nfsf1lm!)

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