Ascension Health Provides Free Credit Monitoring Services Following Data Breach
Ascension Health has announced it is offering complimentary credit monitoring and identity theft protection services to individuals affected by a recent data security incident. The St. Louis-based healthcare provider, which operates four hospitals and 35 outpatient clinics in Southwest Michigan, disclosed the patient data breach on April 30.
The breach impacted sites of care in multiple states, including Alabama, Michigan, Indiana, Tennessee, and Texas. According to Chris Hunt, Ascension spokesperson, the incident did not involve Ascension’s internal systems, networks, or electronic health records. The healthcare provider first became aware of the potential security issue on December 5, 2024, and immediately initiated an investigation.
The investigation revealed that Ascension had inadvertently shared patient information with a former business partner. Some of this information was subsequently determined to have been “likely stolen” due to a vulnerability in software used by the former partner. The compromised data included demographic information such as names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, dates of birth, race, gender, and social security numbers. Clinical information related to inpatient visits was also affected, including places of service, physician names, admission and discharge dates, diagnoses, billing codes, medical record numbers, and insurance company names.
The specific data elements involved varied by patient, according to Hunt. Ascension has since reviewed its processes and is implementing enhanced security measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Impacted individuals have been offered two years of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services through Kroll. These services include credit monitoring, fraud consultation, and identity theft restoration. Affected patients have been advised to monitor their credit reports for suspicious activity and have been provided with additional guidance on protecting their information.
For those with questions, Ascension has established a dedicated call center operating between 8 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. CST, Monday through Friday (excluding major U.S. holidays), reachable at 866-408-3556.
