Posted on 08/25/2017 8:21:14 AM PDT by Silentgypsy
Thousands of people with HIV received mailed letters from Aetna last month that may have disclosed their HIV status on the envelope.
The letters, which Aetna said were sent to approximately 12,000 people, were meant to relay a change in pharmacy benefits. Text visible through a small window on the envelopes listed the patients’ names and suggested a change in how they would fill the prescription for their treatment for the virus.
“People have been devastated. We’ve had a number of people tell us they had chosen not to disclose their HIV status to family members — but this is how their family members found out,” said Sally Friedman, legal director at Legal Action Center, which is pushing Aetna to correct the mistake and which highlighted the violation Thursday.
“People with any private health conditions can just imagine, whether you’re being treated for cancer or a behavioral condition, just imagine having that flat out on the front of an envelope for anyone to see. It should be a grave concern to everyone,” she added.
(Excerpt) Read more at statnews.com ...
How?
I understand that America likes to make things right through the "gimme money" approach -- but "correct the mistake"? I don't think you actually can.
Oops.
Yep, private information of all type is no longer private and is minimally protected online.
I guess Aetna never heard of HIPAA.
.
So now the mailman knows who the infected queers are on his route.
Uh oh. Do you recommend using keywords for preposting search to avoid dupes, or maybe both title and keywords? Ha ha, I think I have just saved you the trouble of typing a reply.
Plenty of straights get HIV - through tainted blood and whatnot. One reason the mere thought of blood banks allowing queers to donate is outrageous...
So, I guess family members were snooping around his mail.
The disturbing aspect of this situation is that innocent people were infected by inconsiderate/unethical partners and, in the eighties, innocent recipients of contaminated blood products were infected. Risky behavior is one thing; collateral fallout is another matter entirely. That’s what frosts me.
There used to be joke envelopes you could buy years ago that said ...”YOUR SYPHILIS TEST RESULTS ARE INSIDE!” and other such goodies. Great for mailing to your boss and others.
Formatting mistake on the mailmerge? I don’t know. But this is a Hippa violation for every single one, as it should be. They need to pay for the mistake of some IT person who formatted and didn’t take into effect the envelope. Stupid.
Some, not plenty. I recall hearing an interview on a radio program many years ago- back in the late 70s, I think, in which a militant homosexual said that they planned to donate blood as often and widely as possible to infect straights. That, he said, was the only way AIDS research would be adequately funded.
Also remember that before AIDS it was called GRID- Gay Related Immuno Deficiency.
Compared to hiring a Chicom firm to be system administrator on the OMB computers that held my security clearance data?
Next time have your IT work done in the USA by Americans.
Do you remember when folks would have subscriptions for gay magazines to their bosses? Do you recall “The B*stard SysAdmin from Hell”? We did have great fun in those days adding multiple zeroes to their utility bills.
Not just egregious—criminal.
Good point.
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