AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) announced a significant data breach affecting at least 61,000 individuals, potentially exposing their protected health information and personal identifying details.
The breach, discovered on Nov. 21, 2024, involved improper access to account information and personal data by HHSC employees.
HHSC said it terminated the employees involved and referred the incident to the Texas Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) for investigation. The unauthorized access occurred between June 2021 and December 2024.
HHSC said that the compromised data may include:
- full names
- home addresses
- telephone numbers
- dates of birth
- email addresses
- Social Security numbers
- Medicaid and Medicare identification numbers
- financial information
- employment information
- banking information
- health and insurance details
HHSC advises affected individuals to carefully review their accounts, health care provider statements and financial institution statements for any suspicious activity. Any questionable charges should be reported promptly to providers and law enforcement.
SNAP recipients are encouraged to check their Lone Star Card transactions for potential fraud at YourTexasBenefits.com or through the Your Texas Benefits mobile app. HHSC says it’s still assessing the impact on other HHSC programs and will continue to notify additional affected individuals as it investigates.
HHSC said it is offering two years of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services to affected individuals and that it will notify those affected by first-class mail by Jan. 20.
People affected by the data breach can call their toll-free hotline (866-362-1773) with questions using the “engagement number B138648”.