January 14, 2008

Wisconsin Improperly Discloses SSNs of 260,000 Residents

The Social Security numbers of about 260,000 Wisconsin residents who participate in the Medicaid, BadgerCare or SeniorCare programs were mistakenly disclosed on an item sent through the mail, a state official said Tuesday. The disclosure comes a little more than a year after the Social Security numbers of more than 170,000 residents were printed on state tax booklets. Rep. Marlin Schneider, D-Wisconsin Rapids, said the state is ultimately responsible for the privacy breach. "The people in the Department of Health and Family Services at the highest levels ought to be fired, " Schneider said, adding that they 're responsible for keeping the Social Security numbers of health program participants private.

Another slip-up opens 260,000 to ID theft in Wisconsin, Wisconsin State Journal, January 9, 2008.