Aetna, a major health insurance provider, is in hot water after a mailing gaffe made the HIV status of thousands of customers clearly visible to anyone who saw the envelopes.
Information about HIV medication was mailed out in envelopes with windows large enough to make the contents of the letter visible exposing the deeply personal medical information without customer consent.
Special: Spot the next Apple with this simple method
This is no small error. The letter, which provided information on how to fill HIV prescriptions to people living with the disease, went out to 12,000 people. The potentially devastating implications of this are clear: Not only does this break medical privacy laws, opening Aetna up to lawsuits galore, the personal and relational damage that may be done in the lives of the customers is significant.
Ronda Goldfein of the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania said in a statement that the information breach “creates a tangible risk of violence, discrimination and other trauma” for people living with HIV.
