ALASKA MEDICAID AGENCY TO PAY $1.7 IN HIPAA SETTLEMENT IN DATA BREACH OF HARD DRIVE

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services just announced that Alaska’s state Medicaid agency agrees to pay HHS $1.7 million to settle violations of the security rule provision of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. Alaska’s health and social services department submitted a breach report regarding the theft of a USB hard drive from the department employee’s vehicle. It contained protected health information for Medicare beneficiaries.