I reported on Aetna’s breach over on DataBreaches.net, but I think the lawsuit concerning it may be of more interest on this blog because of the irony: in an attempt to better protect privacy of sensitive information, using envelopes with windows exposed the very sensitive information that needed protecting.
Lowell Neumann Nickey reports:
Health insurance giant Aetna was hit with a federal class action Monday claiming it revealed HIV patients’ identities through settlement notice letters advising them they no longer have to order medications through the mail.
Aetna has previously settled two lawsuits accusing it of jeopardizing the privacy of customers who take HIV medications by requiring them to receive medications through mail, rather than at a pharmacy.
In addition to an over $300,000 payout, those settlements required Aetna “send all of its insureds who had been required to mail-order their HIV medicines a notice informing them that they were no longer required to order their medications through the mail,” according to a new lawsuit filed Monday in Philadelphia federal court.
Read more on Courthouse News.