Policyholder Insurance Information Stolen from Ill. Vendor

Computer records containing personal information of about 130,000 members of Connecticut-based health insurer Aetna Inc. were stolen from the office of a vendor, the company said.

A lockbox stolen during an Oct. 26 break-in at Concentra Preferred Systems contained computer backup tapes of medical claim data, Aetna spokeswoman Cynthia Michener said..

It’s unlikely the culprits were trying to obtain information needed to commit identity theft because cash, DVD players and other items also were stolen, authorities said.

“We believe the likelihood of anyone successfully accessing or compromising the data to be low,” Michener said.

Accessing information from the backup tapes, which cannot be used on a standard personal computer, would require commercial equipment and special software packages, Concentra Preferred Systems said.

The Naperville, Ill.-based company provides claims cost management services to health insurance carriers and health maintenance organizations.

The stolen data included information on 19,000 Aetna members in Ohio and several other Concentra clients, Michener said.

Concentra officials declined to say which clients were involved, citing confidentiality concerns.

Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna, one of the nation’s largest health insurers, plans to notify members and providers who could be affected and offer them free credit monitoring services for a year