DES MOINES, Iowa — A cyber attack has exposed personal data for thousands of Iowans who receive Medicaid. The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services said Tuesday the breach was part of an attack on a contractor’s computer systems last summer. The Iowa Medicaid system itself was not hacked.

The department says approximately 20,800 Iowans may have had their names, Medicaid details and other sensitive information exposed. Those who have been impacted will be notified by a letter in the mail this week. The letter will say what was exposed and what steps one should take to stay safe.

The Iowa HHS said that Medicaid members with questions can reach out to Iowa Medicaid Member Services toll-free at 833-257-1764 Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT.

Additional details:

Iowa Medicaid, a division of HHS, works with private contractors to help deliver health care in Iowa. One of those contractors is Telligen, Inc. which performs annual assessments for Medicaid members to ensure they are receiving the correct level of care. Telligen subcontracted part of that work to Independent Living Systems (ILS).

Between June 30 and July 5, 2022, ILS suffered a data breach that resulted in the exposure of personal information belonging to more than four million individuals across several states. Data for approximately 20,800 Iowa Medicaid members was involved in this breach. The breach led to the compromising of information, such as full names, Medicaid details, and other sensitive information.

ILS detected the network intrusion on July 5, 2022, and reported the incident to the FBI and other authorities. An investigation was launched to determine what data was compromised. As the investigation was concluding, ILS informed Telligen of the breach on February 14, 2023. Telligen notified Iowa HHS and Medicaid on February 17, 2023.

ILS has taken steps to mitigate the risk of this happening again by improving their network security environment and providing enhanced training to employees on dealing with sensitive information.

(Radio Iowa) – The University of Iowa plans to ask for emergency authorization from the Board of Regents next week to make repairs to a facility damaged by the March 31st tornado. The U-I says the authorization is needed to make repairs to the Hydroscience and Engineering buildings along Highway 6 in Coralville without going through the normal bidding process.

The university says the facility is one of their major federally funded research centers — and they need to replace a metal building, research equipment and complex river modeling systems. There is not a cost estimate, but the university says any disaster relief or insurance funds would help pay the repair costs.

Hydroscience damage-(UI-photo)

The Regents meet next Wednesday and Thursday at Iowa State University in Ames.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House has voted to forbid cities and counties from having ordinances that ban certain breeds of dogs, like pit bulls. Representative Jacob Bossman, a Republican from Sioux City, says the bill will hopefully turn the focus to responsible dog ownership. “It’s kind of a cop out for communities to say: ‘We’re just going to ban this breed or this breed,’ and it makes you feel good, but studies have shown it doesn’t get to the issue,” Bossman says.

The American Veterinary Medical Association says breed specific bans can give communities a false sense of security. The group says any dog can become aggressive and bite if they are unsupervised or not trained in how to interact with other dogs and humans.  “This bill will allow Iowans to responsibly own the dogs of their choice, live where they choose and will instead turn the focus on dogs that have problems rather than specific breeds,” he says. Bossman is from Sioux City, where an ordinance banned pit bulls from city limits for 11 years. The ordinance was repealed in 2019.

“There was a breed ban in Sioux City — don’t need to get into all the specifics — but I think it was generally accepted that it kind of failed,” Bossman says. The bill passed the House on an 82-to-16 vote. One opponent said it dilutes the authority of local officials to respond to local concerns. Dozens of Iowa cities have ordinances that either ban certain breeds of dogs or label specific breeds as dangerous or vicious.

(Radio Iowa) – A hearing will be held today (Wednesday) at the Iowa Capitol on a bill that would prohibit mail-in voting in next year’s Iowa Caucuses. The move would scuttle the Iowa Democratic Party’s plan to offer an early voting alternative for those who will not be attending a precinct level meeting on Caucus night. Representative Bobby Kaufmann, a Republican from Wilton, says requiring in-person participation on Caucus night ensures New Hampshire doesn’t move its presidential primary ahead of the Iowa Caucuses.

“When you have a system that strongly resembles a primary and the new New Hampshire secretary state of says: ‘We’re the first primary state, that’s long held tradition, and we’re going to jump over you if you do that,’ I’m going to take that seriously,” Kaufmann says, “so that’s why I’m doing it.” Kaufmann, who is the son of Iowa G-O-P chairman Jeff Kaufmann, says this is a must-do bill for the 2023 legislature.

“The protection of the Caucuses’ first-in-the-nation status is critical,” Kaufmann says. “If we do mail in, it will not happen anymore.” Kaufmann’s bill has another feature to prevent people from trying to vote in both the Democratic AND the Republican Party Caucuses. It would require Caucus participants to have registered to vote as a Republican or a Democrat at least 70 days before Caucus Night.

“If you want to Caucus with a particular party, make a plan and register accordingly,” Kaufmann says. Iowa Democratic Party chair Rita Hart says these proposals from Republicans are a surprise, made without any input from Democrats. Hart says Democrats will do what’s best for Iowa and that means moving forward with what she describes as an inclusive Caucus process.

The Republican National Committee has voted to keep the Iowa G-O-P’s Caucuses first in the nation. However, national Democratic Party leaders have selected five other states to go first as their party selects a 2024 presidential nominee.