Medicare portal database exposed US health providers' Social Security numbers, WaPo reports

WASHINGTON, April 30 (Reuters) - A Medicare portal database exposed U.S. health providers' Social Security numbers, the Washington Post reported on Thursday.

The Post reported that the database was used to populate a directory created last year by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to help seniors search for doctors.

The database, which was publicly accessible, contained some health providers' Social Security numbers linked to their names, the Post reported.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment.