Data breach in S.C. affects 228K Medicaid beneficiaries

The South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (SCDHHS) discovered this month that a Medicaid employee inappropriately transferred personal information for 228,435 Medicaid beneficiaries to their personal email account, constituting a violation of agency policy.

In addition to terminating the employee, the department immediately contacted the S.C. Law Enforcement Division to investigate the incident and also informed other state and federal agencies.

More than 90 percent of the affected beneficiaries live in six counties: Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Lexington, Orangeburg and Richland. For affected beneficiaries, SCDHHS is offering free services to protect them from possible identity theft. Affected beneficiaries will receive a letter from SCDHHS with further instructions. 

SCDHHS added this incident does not involve medical information and does not affect any current beneficiaries’ Medicaid eligibility status.