Notice of Data Incident

About the data Event

Covenant Care California, LLC (“Covenant Care”) is providing notice of a recent data event.

Covenant Care owns and operates skilled nursing facilities and home health agencies throughout California and Nevada. Covenant Care also previously provided rehabilitation services through a company called AFFIRMA, and currently provides home healthcare services under the names Focus Health, Elevate Home Health, Choice Home Health Care, and San Diego Home Health.

Covenant Care recently became aware of an incident in which an unauthorized individual(s) gained access to certain files on Covenant Care’s network which contained certain personal information about patients and other individuals. Covenant Care maintains certain personal information related to current patients, former patients, prospective patient referrals, and responsible parties of patients who received services from a facility or agency operated by Covenant Care.  

This notice is intended to inform potentially affected individuals of the data incident and to provide information and resources that they may use to help protect their information, should they feel it is appropriate to do so. 

Frequently asked questions

1. What Happened?

On or about November 14, 2023, Covenant Care identified suspicious activity related to certain systems within its computer network. In response, Covenant Care promptly took steps to secure its systems and began an investigation into the activity. Although the investigation is ongoing, Covenant Care recently determined that an unauthorized party copied certain files from its systems as part of the incident between November 12 and November 14, 2023. Covenant Care is in the process of conducting a detailed review to determine what information was present in the relevant files and to whom the information relates and will be issuing relevant notification based on the results of that review.

2. What Information Was Involved?

While the review is ongoing, the information present in the relevant files may include: name, date of birth, medical information and/or health insurance information, including diagnosis or treatment information and/or claims and billing information. For some individuals, the information may include also Social Security number, financial account or credit/debit card numbers, driver’s license or state/federal identification number, and/or other personal information.

3. What is Covenant Care Doing?

Information security is one of Covenant Care’s highest priorities, and it has strict security measures in place to protect information. Covenant Care is currently reviewing technical, administrative, and physical safeguards to identify and implement any potential enhancements to its security measures, including provisioning additional monitoring tools throughout its environment. Further, general privacy and security policies and procedures are being reviewed for potential enhancements.

In response to this incident, Covenant Care promptly commenced an investigation to determine the full nature and scope of the issue and focused on identifying potentially affected individuals and their contact information in order to quickly notify them of the incident. While these efforts remain ongoing, Covenant Care is providing notice to potentially affected individuals that include information and resources that they may use to help protect their information. As an added precaution, Covenant Care is also offering potentially affected individuals access to credit monitoring and identity theft restoration services at no cost. In addition to notifying affected individuals, Covenant Care is also notifying federal and state regulatory agencies and federal law enforcement. 

While we have strict security measures in place to protect information in our possession, we are currently reviewing technical, administrative, and physical safeguards to identify and implement any potential enhancements to security measures, including provisioning additional monitoring tools throughout its environment. Further, our general privacy and security policies and procedures are being reviewed for potential enhancements.

 4. What Can I Do?

We encourage potentially affected individuals to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud, to review account statements and explanation of benefits, and to monitor credit reports for suspicious activity and to detect errors. Please also review the “Additional Resources” section below.

5. More Information?

Covenant Care has established a dedicated assistance line for individuals seeking additional information regarding this incident. Individuals may call (866) 983-8909 (toll-free), which is available Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Central Time, excluding major U.S. holidays, with questions or if they would like additional information. 

Additional Resources

Monitor Your Accounts

Under U.S. law, a consumer is entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. To order a free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call, toll-free, 1-877-322-8228. Consumers may also directly contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below to request a free copy of their credit report.

Consumers have the right to place an initial or extended “fraud alert” on a credit file at no cost. An initial fraud alert is a 1-year alert that is placed on a consumer’s credit file. Upon seeing a fraud alert display on a consumer’s credit file, a business is required to take steps to verify the consumer’s identity before extending new credit. If consumers are the victim of identity theft, they are entitled to an extended fraud alert, which is a fraud alert lasting seven years. Should consumers wish to place a fraud alert, please contact any of the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below.

As an alternative to a fraud alert, consumers have the right to place a “credit freeze” on a credit report, which will prohibit a credit bureau from releasing information in the credit report without the consumer’s express authorization. The credit freeze is designed to prevent credit, loans, and services from being approved in a consumer’s name without consent. However, consumers should be aware that using a credit freeze to take control over who gets access to the personal and financial information in their credit report may delay, interfere with, or prohibit the timely approval of any subsequent request or application they make regarding a new loan, credit, mortgage, or any other account involving the extension of credit. Pursuant to federal law, consumers cannot be charged to place or lift a credit freeze on their credit report. To request a credit freeze, individuals may need to provide some or all of the following information:

1. Full name (including middle initial as well as Jr., Sr., II, III, etc.);
2. Social Security number;
3. Date of birth;
4. Addresses for the prior two to five years;
5. Proof of current address, such as a current utility bill or telephone bill;
6. A legible photocopy of a government-issued identification card (state driver’s license or ID card, etc.); and
7. A copy of either the police report, investigative report, or complaint to a law enforcement agency concerning identity theft if they are a victim of identity theft.

Should consumers wish to place a credit freeze or fraud alert, please contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below:

Additional Information

Consumers may further educate themselves regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, credit freezes, and the steps they can take to protect your personal information by contacting the consumer reporting bureaus, the Federal Trade Commission, or their state Attorney General. The Federal Trade Commission may be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20580; www.identitytheft.gov; 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338); and TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The Federal Trade Commission also encourages those who discover that their information has been misused to file a complaint with them. Consumers can obtain further information on how to file such a complaint by way of the contact information listed above. Consumers have the right to file a police report if they ever experience identity theft or fraud. Please note that in order to file a report with law enforcement for identity theft, consumers will likely need to provide some proof that they have been a victim. Instances of known or suspected identity theft should also be reported to law enforcement and the relevant state Attorney General.

For District of Columbia residents, the District of Columbia Attorney General may be contacted at: 400 6th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20001; (202) 442-9828; and oag.dc.gov.

For Maryland residents, the Maryland Attorney General may be contacted at: 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202; 1-410-576-6300 or 1-888-743-0023; and https://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/. Covenant Care is headquartered at .

For New Mexico residents, consumers have rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, such as the right to be told if information in their credit file has been used against them, the right to know what is in their credit file, the right to ask for their credit score, and the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information. Further, pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the consumer reporting bureaus must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information; consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information; access to consumers’ files is limited; consumers must give consent for credit reports to be provided to employers; consumers may limit “prescreened” offers of credit and insurance based on information in their credit report; and consumers may seek damages from violators. Consumers may have additional rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act not summarized here. Identity theft victims and active-duty military personnel have specific additional rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. We encourage consumers to review their rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act by visiting www.consumerfinance.gov/f/201504_cfpb_summary_your-rights-under-fcra.pdf, or by writing Consumer Response Center, Room 130-A, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580.

For New York residents, the New York Attorney General may be contacted at: Office of the Attorney General, The Capitol, Albany, NY 12224-0341; 1-800-771-7755; or https://ag.ny.gov.

For North Carolina residents, the North Carolina Attorney General may be contacted at: 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001; 1-877-566-7226 or 1-919-716-6000; and www.ncdoj.gov.

For Rhode Island residents, the Rhode Island Attorney General may be reached at: 150 South Main Street, Providence, RI 02903; www.riag.ri.gov; and 1-401-274-4400. Under Rhode Island law, individuals have the right to obtain any police report filed in regard to this event. The number of Rhode Island residents that may be impacted by this event has not been determined.