Following an investigation led by the Washington Attorney General, Premera Blue Cross has agreed to pay $10 million to 30 states after experiencing a data breach in 2014 that compromised the Protected Health Information of over 10 million individuals. $5.4 million of the settlement amount will be paid to the Washington State Attorney General’s Office to continue enforcement activities of data security laws, and $4.6 million will be used as aid to the coalition of nine other states that joined the action.
The breach affected 10.4 million individuals, and 6.4 million of those individuals resided in the State of Washington.
In addition to the monetary settlement, Premera Blue Cross is required to review its security practices and provide reports to the Washington Attorney General’s Office on an annual basis.