HANS has recently been made aware that Managed Health Care Services Inc. (MHCSI) has sent letters to members of the HANS group benefits plan advising of a possible breach of private information held by them that occurred in November 2022.
MHCSI is an entirely separate organization from the HANS Group Benefit Solutions. It offers a customer loyalty program allowing discounts on purchases at designated retail outlets (Lawtons and Sobeys), including pharmacies, for members of our group benefit plan that choose to participate. Apart from verifying membership in our plan, we do not share any plan member information with MHCSI, nor does MHCSI play any other role in the administration of our plan.
This program was made available to members of our plan by HANS Group Benefit Solutions from October 2008 until June 2022. Plan members can now access a similar program through our Health and Dental provider, Medavie Blue Cross (MBC).
Please be assured that this is not a HANS privacy data breach. HANS Group Benefits does not share medical or other personal information in our care with MHCSI.
We have reached out to Medavie Blue Cross, our Health and Dental claims adjudicator, and have received confirmation that data potentially exposed in the MHCSI breach cannot be used to submit fraudulent claims. Plan Member authentication is required when accessing the Blue Cross Mobile app and members services site and only accredited providers can submit claims directly on behalf of a member.
HANS senior staff are continuing to work with MBC and MHCSI to understand the extent of the breach and any potential risk to our members. We will provide an update as soon as we have further clarification.
In the interim, we encourage concerned plan members to call the client hotline contact number that is provided in the letter you received from MHCSI.