PharMerica Data Breach– California Residents

NOTICE: If you are/were a patient or customer of PharMerica residing in California, and believe you may have been impacted by the below described Data Breach, or if you reside in California and you received a Notice of Data Breach from PharMerica, contact the Arnold Law Firm at (916) 777-7777 to discuss your legal options, or submit a confidential Case Evaluation form here.

On or about May 12, 2023, PharMerica notified State Attorneys’ General that the personally identifiable information (“PII”) of its current and former customers, including California residents, and potentially their dependents and its current and former employees, was exposed when PharMerica claims there was a “cybersecurity incident” (the “Data Breach”)

According to these notifications, PharMerica discovered the Data Breach on March 14, 2023 when it learned of suspicious activity on its computer network and investigated the Data Breach and determined that, between March 12-13, 2023, hackers had gained access to their network without authorization. The “ransomware gang” “Money Message” has claimed responsibility for the Data Breach and has published some of the PII it acquired from PharMerica. PharMerica has revealed that the PII available to the hackers during this breach consists of, including, but not limited to the names, mailing addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, medications, and health insurance information of many California residents.

PharMerica discovered the Data Breach on March 14, 2023 and determined whose information was involved and what PII was taken by March 21, 2023. However, despite having all of this information already, it waited nearly two whole months, until May 12^th, 2023 to notify State Attorneys’ General.

PharMerica is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, and provides pharmacy services in all 50 states, operating 180 local and 70,000 backup pharmacies, which serve 3,100 medical facilities nationwide. It has over 5,700 direct employees and in 2022, had over $500 million in revenue. The data of over 5,815,591 individuals was compromised by this data breach. The individuals affected by the Data Breach also includes countless California residents. If you are or were a patient or customer of PharMerica or any of its related entities and reside in California or if you reside in California and you received a Notice of Data Breach from PharMerica, you may have been impacted by the data breach.

WHAT INFORMATION IS INVOLVED?

According to PharMerica, the following information was exposed:

• Names
• Social Security numbers
• Dates of birth
• Mailing addresses
• Medications
• Health insurance information

This information is called your Personally Identifiable Information (“PII”). It tells others about you and is considered part of your identity. Businesses are required to secure this information or risk facing statutory penalties, among other legal penalties. Stolen PII can be used by identity thieves to engage in fraudulent activity using your identity.

The best way to protect yourself after a data breach is to sign up for credit and identity protection services as soon as possible. California offers extra protections and legal rights to its residents through the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) and the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (“CMIA”).

NOTICE: If you are or were a patient/customer of PharMerica residing in California and believe you may have been impacted by the Data Breach, or reside in California and you received a Notice of Data Breach from PharMerica, contact the Arnold Law Firm at (916) 777-7777 to discuss your legal options, or submit a confidential Case Evaluation form here.