The city of New Haven is among four covered entities that recently entered into agreements with the HHS Office for Civil Rights to settle allegations of HIPAA breaches.^[1] In response to questions from RPP, New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker called it “regrettable” that the city “failed to fully address this security breach at the time,” which was prior to his election in November 2019.

The settlement was triggered by a former employee who entered the office after she was terminated and downloaded information for nearly 500 patients in 2017.

“The federal investigation and enforcement action took some time, but it is our understanding that the Health Department, headed by a Director of Health who no longer works for the City, did take steps to restrict access to its offices and to place greater emphasis on the importance of compliance with privacy laws in the aftermath of the breach,” Elicker said in an email to RPP.