Huge health care hack exposed 144M Americans' info. Was your data exposed? Check here
About 1 in 3 Americans were affected by health data breaches and more than 144 million Americans' medical information was compromised in 2023, a USA TODAY investigation found.
The number of data breaches has been increasing over the past few years, according to a study by the HIPAA Journal, and the issue has caused economic and political unrest nationwide.
This record-breaking year for data breach cases in the United States was shadowed by an enormous ransomware attack on Change Healthcare in February.
Here's what to know about the attack and how your health data may have been involved.
How was health care data hacked?
In late February, Change Healthcare, the largest health care payment system in the country, was targeted in a ransomware attack, a cyberattack that utilizes software to prevent users from accessing electronic systems by demanding a ransom to restore access.
Change Healthcare, which is owned by UnitedHealth Group, processes 15 billion health care transactions annually, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Responsible for handling one in every three patient records, the fallout from this attack has affected millions of Americans.
"We cannot say this more clearly – the Change Healthcare cyberattack is the most significant and consequential incident of its kind against the U.S. health care system in history," Rick Pollack, the president and CEO of the American Hospital Association, said in a public statement on March 5.
More: What happens if medical records are stolen? As breaches become more common, be in the know
Was your health data exposed in a hack?
Health care organizations are required by federal law to report any security breaches that compromise patient information to Health and Human Services.
You can find out if your health information has been exposed by searching your company name, company location or breach type into the database at https://data.usatoday.com/health-care-data-breaches/.
Why are health care cyber attacks so dangerous?
A study published by the Social Science Research Network shows hospital mortality increases while hospital revenue decreases during a ransomware attack as medical professionals are prevented from accessing past medical care or records and communicating messages to colleagues.
"For nearly two weeks, this attack has made it harder for hospitals to provide patient care, fill prescriptions, submit insurance claims, and receive payment for the essential health care services they provide," Pollack said.
What to do if your data has been breached?
If you find that your health data has been involved in this data breach or data breaches, you can take these steps to protect yourself and your data.
Enroll in identity and credit monitoring services
Look for signs of medical identity theft
Report suspicious activity
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Was your health data exposed in hack? Check this database
