Aetna Letters Publicly Revealed Patients' HIV Status
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Health insurance giant Aetna recently alerted thousands of policyholders of a change to their pharmacy benefits. Problem is, Aetna sent those letters out in envelopes that revealed that the recipients is HIV positive.
The Legal Action Center and the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania today called on Aetna to correct the issue, apologize, and stop the mailings after customers in several states say their privacy was violated by the insurance company.
According to the consumer organizations, on July 28 Aetna sent mailings to about 12,000 customers informing them of changes on how to fill the prescription for their treatment of the HIV virus. However, customers say that when they received the letters, their names and medical information—including that they were receiving treatment for HIV—were visible through a large window on the front of the envelope.
However, a photo of the mailing provided by Legal Action Center and the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania shows more information was visible.
Consumerist has reached out to Aetna for additional information. We'll update this post when we hear back.
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