News

Anthem/Empire BCBS Hit by Hackers

*** UPDATE ***

Anthem, Inc., the parent company of Empire BlueCross BlueShield, issued a press release today announcing that in the coming weeks a letter will be mailed to all current and former members, reaching back to 2004. The letter includes updated information on the cyber attack and advises members that they will be automatically enrolled in an identity repair program at no cost for two years as well as instructions on how to enroll in additional services, including a credit monitoring program, also at no cost for two years. Members can immediately enroll in this service by going online via www.anthemfacts.com or calling the vendor 877-263-7995.  Phone lines will be open from 2:00 to 9:00 p.m. ET on Friday, and will be open 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. ET Monday to Saturday.  Spanish-speaking members may access information at AnthemInforma.com, or receive assistance in Spanish at 877-263-7995.

Anthem’s Updated FAQ

Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield warns of scam emails targeting Empire members. These scams, designed to capture personal information (known as “phishing”) are designed to appear as if they are from Anthem (Empire’s parent company), and the emails include a “click here” link supposedly for credit monitoring. These emails are NOT from Anthem or Empire.
If you receive such an email:

• DO NOT click on any links in the email.
• DO NOT reply to the email or reach out to the senders in any way.
• DO NOT supply any information on the website that may open, if you have mistakenly clicked on a link in the email.
• DO NOT open any attachments that arrive with the email.

Empire also is NOT calling members regarding the cyber attack and is NOT asking for credit card information or social security numbers over the phone.  Empire says it will contact current and former members via mail delivered by the U.S. Postal Service about the cyber attack with specific information on how to enroll in credit monitoring. Empire has announced that affected members will receive free credit monitoring and ID protection services.

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House approves bill to allow multiemployer pension plan benefit cuts

Trustees of financially distressed multiemployer pension plans would be allowed to cut participants’ benefits to prevent the plans from becoming insolvent under legislation narrowly approved by the House of Representatives Thursday night.

Benefits could be cut if a plan is projected to become insolvent during a current plan year or any of the next 14 years, or any of the next 19 years if the plan’s ratio of inactive participants to active participants exceeds 2-to-1 or if the plan is less than 80% funded.

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Ebola Guidance

The New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH), has released a three-page guidance document on Ebola Virus Disease and how workers can protect themselves. We recently met with management to discuss the MTA’s readiness plan.  MTA has released Read more…

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