The Texas Health and Human Services Commission was hit with a $1.6 million fine for violating federal privacy and security rules.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights imposed the civil money penalty after an investigation found that a division of Texas HHSC had a data breach that enabled unauthorized users to view the electronically protected health information of 6,000 people.
The information exposed included names, addresses, social security numbers, and treatment information in violation of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) rules, according to a press release from OCR.