Dive Brief:
- BCBS health insurers will provide free security measures to the millions of enrollees impacted by a series of high-profile breaches this year. (Think: Anthem, which impacted up to 80 million, Premera, which impacted 11 million, and CareFirst, which impacted 1.1 million.)
- Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, which represents 35 health insurers, said the no-fee services will include identity protection and direct customer support for fraud complaints.
- This may mark the first such free security plan offered in the health insurance sector, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Dive Insight:
"I think there is a potential for this to set an industry standard," Eva Velasquez, CEO at Identity Theft Resource Center in San Diego, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Providing free identity security measures for customers, according to Ms. Velasquez, could help build public trust for health insurers.
Still, such approaches are still putting a bandaid over a bullet hole—the data has already been compromised, and other insurers are working to shore up their cybersecurity. "While we haven't experienced any breaches as extensive as other insurers have reported, we will continue to evaluate all methods to protect and support our members and to ensure the continued privacy and security [of their data]," UPMC Health Plan spokeswoman Gina Pferdehirt said.
More than 100 million Americans have health coverage through Blue Cross and Blue Shield.