Possible Access Health security breach

Officials from the state's healthcare exchange, Access Health CT, are looking into a possible security breach, officials said Friday.

A backpack was discovered on Trumbull Street in Hartford containing four notepads with personal information for 400 individuals, as well as Access Health CT paperwork, the marketplace's CEO Kevin Counihan said in a statement. Access Health's headquarters is on Trumbull Street.

It is unknown whether any of the people whose information was in the notebook were Access Health CT customers, but spokeswoman Kathleen Tallarita said a possible connection is being investigated.

It is still unclear where the backpack came from, but Access Health officials said they are working with the Hartford Police Department, and plan to contact the individuals whose information may be compromised.

"I have directed Peter Van Loon, chief operations officer, to work with Maximus, our call center vendor, and our outreach teams to address this situation as quickly as possible, including ensuring that we address the potential issue of identity theft," Counihan said in the statement. "Our legal department is also in the process of filing all required state and federal breach reports."

Access Health is one of the state-based health exchanges set up across the country as part of the Affordable Care Act, the sweeping health care reform legislation also referred to as Obamacare. The exchanges allow people to shop for health insurance. Connecticut's exchange allowed residents to enroll either in a private plan or Medicaid.

When the enrollment deadline passed in the spring, more than 200,000 state residents had signed up for coverage through the exchange.