American Addiction Centers (AAC), a major provider of substance-use disorder treatment services, agreed to a $5 million class action settlement after a September 2024 data breach that may have exposed patients’ and consumers’ personal information. Incidents like this are particularly sensitive in healthcare because treatment providers often store not only identifiers (like names, addresses, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers) but also highly private information tied to medical care; exposure can raise risks of identity theft, fraud, and the stigma-related harms that can follow from disclosure of addiction-treatment connections. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of people whose information was potentially affected, alleging AAC failed to implement reasonable data-security practices and to adequately protect the data it held, resulting in preventable harms and increased risk of misuse. The settlement website indicates potential payments ranging from $50 to $5,000, with a claim deadline of 3/23/26 and no proof required, reflecting a common structure in data-breach cases where claimants may be compensated for time spent, out-of-pocket losses, or the increased risk and inconvenience created by exposure. Beyond individual payouts, these cases are significant because they pressure organizations handling sensitive health data to tighten cybersecurity, improve incident response, and offer clearer notice and assistance when breaches occur. More broadly, AAC’s case fits a nationwide pattern of healthcare breach class actions against hospitals, insurers, and specialty providers, where plaintiffs argue that outdated security controls and weak vendor oversight make medical data a prime target. The industry operates under a patchwork of obligations: HIPAA’s Privacy and Security Rules set standards for safeguarding protected health information and require breach notifications, while many state data-breach laws add notice timelines and consumer protections, and federal regulators like HHS’s Office for Civil Rights can investigate and penalize noncompliance. As cyberattacks on healthcare providers continue to rise, settlements like this may accelerate adoption of stronger safeguards such as multifactor authentication, encryption, network monitoring, and more rigorous third-party risk management across the sector.