Aetna reached a $935,000 settlement with California's attorney general to resolve allegations it violated state health privacy laws by inadvertently revealing the HIV status of its members in 2017.
Aetna allegedly revealed the HIV status of some of its members when it mailed letters with information clearly visible through a window on the envelopes about filling prescriptions for HIV medications as well as pre-exposure prophylaxis, a pill that helps prevent a person from contracting HIV. The letters were mailed July 28, 2017, to about 12,000 customers, 1,991 of whom were in California.
In January 2018, Aetna reached a $17 million settlement to resolve a federal class-action lawsuit filed in August 2017 after the alleged breach.
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