People who received an individual notice that their information may have been affected in the 2025 Central Maine Healthcare data incident may qualify for benefits from a proposed $1,368,025 class action settlement. The court-authorized website says claims must be submitted online or postmarked by September 28, 2026.
The settlement has not received final approval. Central Maine Healthcare and Central Maine Medical Center deny wrongdoing and liability, and the court has not decided that either defendant violated the law. A valid claim is required for benefits, and no payment is guaranteed.
Key facts
- Case: In re Central Maine Data Security Litigation, Docket No. ANDSC-CIV-2025-00083
- Court: Business and Consumer Court for Androscoggin County, Maine
- Settlement fund: $1,368,025
- Who may qualify: U.S. residents whose private information may have been affected and who were sent an individual notice by the defendants
- Benefit choices: Up to $5,000 for documented losses or an estimated $50 alternate cash payment
- Additional benefit: One year of medical-records monitoring may be claimed with either cash option
- Claim deadline: September 28, 2026
- Exclusion and objection deadline: September 13, 2026
- Final approval hearing: October 28, 2026
Action available now A class member must file a valid, timely claim to seek settlement benefits. The official administrator site is CMHDataSecuritySettlement.com.
What is Central Maine Healthcare?
Central Maine Healthcare, often shortened to CMH, describes itself as an integrated healthcare delivery system serving people across central, western, and mid-coast Maine. Its hospital facilities include Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, Bridgton Hospital, and Rumford Hospital. The system also supports primary- and specialty-care practices and services including cancer, cardiovascular, trauma, and other clinical care.
That context matters because patients commonly provide healthcare organizations with identity, insurance, billing, and medical information as part of receiving care. The settlement notice uses the term private information to mean information collected or maintained by the defendants, including a name combined with private health information or other non-public personally identifiable information.
Central Maine Healthcare Corporation doing business as Central Maine Healthcare and Central Maine Medical Center are the defendants in the settlement. The people who brought the lawsuit are referred to as plaintiffs or class representatives. In a class action, named plaintiffs pursue claims for a larger group of people with similar alleged injuries, subject to court oversight.
What happened in the 2025 data incident?
Central Maine Healthcare’s own incident notice says it detected unusual activity in its information-technology network on June 1, 2025. The organization says it took steps to secure its systems, began an investigation with outside cybersecurity specialists, and notified law enforcement.
According to that notice, the investigation determined that an unauthorized party accessed the healthcare system’s IT environment between March 19 and June 1, 2025. Files that may have been accessed or acquired contained patient information such as names, dates of birth, treatment information, dates of service, provider names, and health-insurance information. For some patients, the files may also have contained Social Security numbers.
The Maine Attorney General’s breach-notice database categorizes the event as an external system breach, or hacking. It records written consumer notifications on several dates in 2025 and notes that identity-protection services were offered.
The lawsuit alleged that the defendants were legally responsible for the potential unauthorized access to class members’ information. The court-authorized notice does not say those allegations have been proven. The defendants deny the legal claims, wrongdoing, and liability.
The allegations remain disputed The court has not found that Central Maine Healthcare or Central Maine Medical Center broke the law. The proposed settlement resolves disputed claims without a trial or admission of wrongdoing.
Who may qualify for the Central Maine settlement?
The court-authorized notice defines the settlement class as all individuals residing in the United States whose private information may have been impacted in the data incident and to whom the defendants sent an individual notification that they were affected.
This is a notice-based class. A person’s connection to Central Maine Healthcare by itself does not establish eligibility. The official definition also requires that the person’s private information may have been affected and that the defendants sent that person an individual notification.
The notice excludes the defendants’ directors and officers, governmental entities, the judge assigned to the lawsuit, the judge’s immediate family, and court staff. People who validly exclude themselves are also no longer participating in the settlement.
Receiving a letter, email, claim identifier, or other settlement communication may help establish that the administrator’s records identify someone as a class member. It still does not guarantee that a claim will be accepted or that a particular amount will be paid. The settlement administrator applies the court-approved rules.
People who remain unsure should use the official website or call the administrator at the number listed there. Class Action Pulse cannot determine individual eligibility.
What benefits does the settlement offer?
Class members may choose between two cash options. They may also request one year of medical-records monitoring with either cash choice.
Cash Payment A: documented losses
A class member may claim up to $5,000 for losses traceable to the data incident. The claim must include reasonable documentation. The notice explains that a claimant cannot be reimbursed twice for the same expense if another source has already paid it.
“Traceable” means the claimant must connect the expense or loss to the incident under the settlement’s rules. The administrator, not Class Action Pulse, decides whether the documentation and claimed connection are sufficient.
If a documented-loss claim lacks adequate support and is not corrected through any available cure process, the notice says it may be processed as the alternate-cash option instead.
Cash Payment B: alternate cash
Instead of seeking documented losses, a class member may request an alternate cash payment without submitting loss documentation. The court-authorized notice describes the payment as an estimated $50.
That estimate is not a promised check amount. The payment is subject to a pro rata adjustment. Pro rata means the available money is divided according to the settlement formula. The amount may increase if approved claims do not use the available net fund or decrease if approved claims exceed it.
Medical-records monitoring
In addition to either cash option, a class member may request one year of free medical-records monitoring. Medical-records monitoring is intended to help detect possible misuse or unusual activity involving medical identity information. Claimants should review the official materials for enrollment and service details.
The settlement also includes injunctive relief. That term refers to changes in conduct rather than a cash payment. The notice says the defendants are implementing additional security measures following the incident.
No fixed cash payment is guaranteed The $50 alternate payment is an estimate, and documented-loss reimbursement depends on approval of the claimed loss. Cash may be adjusted based on valid claims and the net settlement fund.
How to file a claim
The official website says the only way to seek settlement-class benefits is to submit a valid, timely claim form. Online claims must be submitted by September 28, 2026. Mailed claims must be postmarked by the same date.
Claimants should file through CMHDataSecuritySettlement.com or use the paper form supplied by the settlement administrator. The official form controls what identity information, claim credentials, certifications, and documentation are required.
A person choosing documented losses should gather records that show the amount paid or lost and why the expense is connected to the incident. A person choosing alternate cash does not need to document a loss, but still must submit a valid claim. A person seeking medical-records monitoring should select that benefit as directed on the form.
There is no fee to file a settlement claim. Claimants should avoid unofficial sites that ask for payment or unnecessary financial credentials.
What are the other deadlines?
The deadline to ask for exclusion is September 13, 2026. Exclusion, also called opting out, removes a class member from the settlement. A person who excludes themselves will not receive settlement benefits but generally keeps the right to bring their own claim concerning the released issues, subject to applicable law and deadlines.
The objection deadline is also September 13, 2026. An objection asks the court not to approve some or all of the settlement while the objector remains in the class. Objecting is different from excluding oneself. The court-authorized notice contains the controlling instructions for both options.
Doing nothing means a class member will receive no benefit. If the settlement becomes final, a class member who did not exclude themselves will still be bound by the judgment and release described in the settlement documents.
Deadline sequence Exclusions and objections are due September 13. Claims are due September 28. These are separate actions with different legal effects.
What happens next?
The court scheduled a final approval hearing for October 28, 2026. At that hearing, the judge will consider whether the settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate, along with requests for attorneys’ fees, costs, and service awards.
The hearing date can change. Class members should check the administrator site for updates. Benefits cannot be finalized unless the court grants final approval and any appeals or other conditions are resolved. The timing of payments and monitoring enrollment therefore remains uncertain.
The settlement website, long-form notice, claim form, settlement agreement, and court orders contain the controlling terms. This article provides general information, not legal advice, and does not guarantee eligibility or payment.