DHS Warns About Medi-Cal ID Theft Risk

The Department of Health Services on Thursday said it has sent letters to 323 Medi-Cal beneficiaries to inform them that documents containing their personal information were found in the possession of a state employee who was not authorized to have them, the Sacramento Bee reports.

The Medi-Cal claim forms were found on June 12 in the cubicle of an employee who does not work with the Medi-Cal program, according to DHS spokesperson Ken August said. The state is investigating how the employee obtained the documents and is monitoring Medi-Cal claims to determine whether the information is being used to illegally acquire Medi-Cal benefits.

The documents contained beneficiaries' names, addresses, Social Security numbers and prescription information, August said. There have been no reported cases of identity theft resulting from the incident (Griffith, Sacramento Bee, 6/23).