(Image: Shutterstock)
An estimated 11.9 million patients' personal and medical information may have been exposed in a data breach of a collections agency that works with Quest Diagnostics Inc. and a unit of the insurer UnitedHealth Group Inc.
Quest said in a securities filing that it had been informed of the breach by American Medical Collection Agency, an Elmsford, New York-based collections firm. For eight months, an unauthorized user had access to personal information including credit card numbers and bank accounts, medical information, and personal information such as Social Security numbers.
Quest, which operates medical testing centers around the U.S., said it has suspended sending collections requests to AMCA and is working with law enforcement and with UnitedHealth on the effects of the breach. Quest said it was informed of the incident on May 14.
