The Texas Health and Human Services Commission reported that personal information may have been compromised in a data breach that affected approximately 3,392 persons in Texarkana, Longview, Marshall, Nacogdoches, Beaumont, and Tyler.
According to HHSC, on Jan. 11, a staff member was discovered to have emailed spreadsheets to their email with full names, home addresses, phone numbers, health information, services, financial information, Medicaid identification numbers, and social security numbers.
The HHSC stated on February 2 that they determined the substance of the emails, which were sent between September and October 2023.
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission stated, “HHSC took immediate steps to mitigate a potential breach by investigating the reported privacy incident, identifying the confidential information involved, and referring the incident to the Texas Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General for further investigation.”
HHSC is not aware of any improper disclosure or use of personal information. However, it is possible that personal information was obtained or viewed by an unwanted recipient.
According to HHSC, the commission has already contacted persons affected by the data leak and offered them a year of free credit monitoring to protect their credit from any exploitation of their personal information.
Anyone who believes they may have been affected by this breach can call 833-918-7750, toll-free, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. CST.