A third lawsuit was filed against Aetna Oct. 20, alleging the insurer violated patient privacy when it inadvertently disclosed the HIV status of roughly 12,000 people in July.
A Santa Monica, Calif.-based consumer watchdog group joined an unnamed California resident in filing a complaint in the state's superior court. They allege the insurer both violated patient privacy during the July mailing and breached a settlement agreement that stemmed from a 2014 lawsuit.
The unnamed plaintiff was part of a 2014 class-action lawsuit against Aetna that alleged the insurer put HIV and AIDS patients' health and privacy at risk by requiring patients to obtain medications by mail order. The July mailings, which exposed patients' HIV status through a large, glassine window, were intended to notify individuals of some terms established in the settlement agreement.
Last week, a second class-action lawsuit was filed by two Florida residents and one Illinois resident. The plaintiffs contend at the end of July, the Hartford, Conn.-based payer "recklessly and unlawfully revealed confidential HIV-related information," causing harm and "risk of stigma and ostracism in their personal and professional lives" for affected members. Legal groups filed the first class-action lawsuit in August.