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Health Insurer Pays $6.85 Million to Settle Data Breach Affecting Over 10.4 Million People

This is an OCR Press Release announcing resolution of case with Premera Blue Cross (PBC).

Final

Issued by: Office for Civil Rights (OCR)

Issue Date: September 25, 2020

Health Insurer Pays $6.85 Million to Settle Data Breach Affecting Over 10.4 Million People

Premera Blue Cross (PBC) has agreed to pay $6.85 million to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and to implement a corrective action plan to settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy and Security Rules related to a breach affecting over 10.4 million people. This resolution represents the second-largest payment to resolve a HIPAA investigation in OCR history. PBC operates in Washington and Alaska, and is the largest health plan in the Pacific Northwest, serving more than two million people.

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