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Medicare portal database exposed US health providers’ Social Security numbers, WaPo reports

By Thomson Reuters Apr 30, 2026 | 7:27 PM

WASHINGTON, April 30 (Reuters) – A Medicare portal database exposed ​U.S. health providers’ ‌Social Security numbers, the Washington Post reported on Thursday.

The Post ‌reported ​that ⁠the database was ⁠used to populate a directory created last year by ​the Centers for Medicare and ⁠Medicaid Services ⁠to help seniors ​search for doctors.

The ​database, which was publicly ‌accessible, contained some health providers’ Social Security numbers ⁠linked to their names, the Post reported.

The Centers ⁠for ‌Medicare and Medicaid ⁠Services did ​not ‌immediately respond to ​a request ⁠for comment.

(Reporting by Jasper Ward, Writing by Christian Martinez; Editing by Jacqueline ​Wong)