Chiusano calling for State and Federal investigations of Horizon 

    MOUNT OLIVE (1/30/08) - Assemblyman Gary Chiusano today called for an immediate investigation by state and federal authorities into the startling admission by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey this week that some 300,000 of its subscribers are at risk of identity theft.

     Horizon is one of the state’s largest health insurance companies and the major provider of benefits for public employees.  The company reported this week that an employee had taken a laptop computer containing the personal information home and it was stolen.

      Chiusano called on the Assembly Speaker and Senate President to convene joint legislative hearings on the matter adding he plans to introduce legislation that would force Horizon to pay legal costs any subscriber incurs and to reimburse the cost of any damages suffered as a result of identify theft crimes stemming from what he called “negligence in this matter.”

    “Horizon is a major provider of benefits for retired employees, many of whom have moved out of state,” said Chiusano (R-Sussex, Morris and Hunterdon) “It’s outrageous that such a security breach could happen, and its repercussions could certainly cross state lines,” he said

     In addition to an investigation by state and federal law enforcement agencies, Chiusano, a member of the Assembly Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee, said the security breach certainly is a matter that should be the subject of a joint Assembly-Senate legislative hearing.

    “Horizon needs to explain how the names, addresses and social security numbers of 300,000 out of its more than 3,000,000 subscribers were entrusted to an employee’s laptop computer and why any employee should be allowed to take such information home,” Chiusano said. “Given the vast scope of the monetary damages subscribers can suffer, I don’t see how a complimentary, one-year membership in a credit monitoring service is sufficient compensation for this blunder. Hundreds of thousands of people could be the victims of identify theft once a year has elapsed,” he said.