CMS Social Security Number Exposure | Privacy

Last Update: 09/22/2026 at 11:34 PM EST

Coverage from Rawstory, Politico, and others

A publicly accessible CMS provider database exposed unredacted Social Security numbers linked to healthcare providers, prompting removal of the file, scrutiny of data-validation controls, and warnings about identity theft and fraud.

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Articles published over time. Hover any bar for the period and its article count.

May 2

May 3

All Articles2 articles

Important2 articles · CI Score 60 and above

Rawstory

CMS Portal Exposes Providers’ Social Security Numbers

CMS disclosed a provider-directory database with healthcare providers Social Security numbers for public use, reported in 2020 by the Washington Post and criticized by lawmakers over fraud risks.

5/3/2026 • Data Breaches & Exposure Events • General

Politico / Robert King

CMS Database Exposes Doctors' Social Security Numbers

POLITICO reported CMS took a provider database offline after unredacted Social Security numbers for at least 102 providers appeared in a downloadable file.

5/2/2026 • Data Breaches & Exposure Events • General