July 11, 2023

           (TRENTON) – The New Jersey Department of Human Services (“NJDHS”), Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services (“DMAHS” or “Medicaid”), takes its commitment to protecting individuals’ health records very seriously.  Therefore, this press release is meant to notify certain New Jersey residents of a recent data security incident (“Incident”) that may have involved their Protected Health Information (“PHI”).

On March 17, 2023, NJDHS received an alert that an applicant for Medicaid benefits was able to find PHI in search engine results for the individual’s name.  In response to this alert, DMAHS immediately cleared the document from the search engine, conducted an internal investigation, and patched the system error that allowed the information to be publicly available in search engine results. In addition, NJDHS engaged third-party experts, including forensic investigators, to investigate the scope of the incident and assist with response and remediation activities as appropriate.  Through this investigation, NJDHS discovered that limited Medicaid application documents for certain other individuals applying for Medicaid benefits were publicly available through certain search engines.  This information has since been cleared from these search engines.

We have since strengthened our systems and will continue to do so throughout this response process and beyond.  While DMAHS will mail a notification letter to those New Jersey residents who may have been affected, individuals may contact a confidential call center if they have additional questions.  The call center can be reached at 1-800-405-6108 from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm ET, Monday through Friday.