The California Attorney General filed a complaint against Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. for improperly disposing of patient medical records containing protected health information. The records, including diagnoses and lab results, were found discarded at a recycling facility, violating patient privacy. The action alleges breaches of the California Confidentiality of Medical Information Act.
In-house legal teams should review all agreements involving the handling of protected health information (PHI), particularly vendor contracts with waste management/recycling services, business associate agreements (BAAs) with third-party processors, and employee confidentiality agreements. Key clauses to scrutinize include data disposal and destruction protocols, confidentiality terms specific to medical records, breach notification requirements, audit rights for compliance verification, and retention schedules. Changes may be needed to mandate certified disposal methods (e.g., cross-shredding), require immediate reporting of unauthorized disposal incidents, incorporate regular training obligations for vendors, and strengthen indemnification provisions for privacy violations under state medical confidentiality laws.
Entity
Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc.
Also known as: Kaiser
Industry
HealthcareKaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. (Health Plan, CA) reported a HIPAA breach affecting 13,400,000 individuals. Breach type: Unauthorized Access/Disclosure. Location of breached information: Network Server.
Governor Newsom signed the Expanding Privacy Rights Act (SB 923), expanding CCPA deletion rights to cover personal information obtained from third parties and requiring online-only businesses to offer an online method for submitting privacy requests. The law takes effect January 1, 2027, and allows businesses to maintain suppression lists to help keep deleted information from being reacquired.
The California Privacy Protection Agency announced that the California State Legislature approved the Expanding Privacy Rights Act (SB 923), which expands the CCPA's right to delete to cover all non-exempt personal information a business holds about a consumer, including data originally collected from third parties. The bill also requires online-only businesses with a direct relationship to consumers to provide online methods, such as webforms, for submitting access, deletion, and correction requests, and expressly permits businesses to retain suppression lists so deleted information stays deleted. The bill, authored by Senator Becker and sponsored by CalPrivacy, now goes to the Governor for consideration.
A bipartisan coalition of 33 state attorneys general, led by Minnesota AG Keith Ellison, began trial against Meta Platforms, Inc., alleging the company knowingly designed and deployed harmful features on Facebook and Instagram that drive children and teens to use the platforms compulsively, while falsely assuring parents and the public that its platforms were safe for young users. The states also allege Meta illegally collected personal information from children under 13 without parental consent, violating COPPA. The trial opened before Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, with the states seeking monetary penalties and injunctive relief.
A coalition of 12 state attorneys general, led by Colorado AG Phil Weiser, obtained a temporary restraining order from a federal court in California to halt the proposed $110 billion merger of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. by Paramount Skydance Corporation. The lawsuit alleges the merger violates Section 7 of the Clayton Act by substantially lessening competition in film distribution, anticipated blockbuster film distribution, and licensing cable TV channels.
The California Privacy Protection Agency (CalPrivacy) joined a coalition of 18 Attorneys General and state agencies in opposing the proposed SECURE Data Act, a federal privacy bill that would preempt stronger state privacy laws like the CCPA. The coalition argues the bill would weaken consumer privacy protections, limit enforcement remedies, and undermine California's Delete Request and Opt-out Platform (DROP).