Aetna May Have Exposed The HIV Status Of Thousands Of Clients | HuffPost
►http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/aetna-hiv-status-privacy_us_59a04965e4b0821444c2e1fb
Insurance company Aetna Inc. inadvertently revealed the HIV status of potentially thousands of its customers when it sent information about HIV medication using an envelope with a mailing window large enough to read the letter’s contents, according to reports. Aetna sent the letter to about 12,000 people, Time reported.
In addition to breaking privacy laws that give people the right to have their medical information protected, the breach also put people’s safety at risk, as HIV stigma is still strong in the U.S.
Several of the affected clients said that family members and neighbors had learned that they were using HIV medication from these mailers, the letter from the nonprofit advocacy groups said.
People have been denied medical and dental care on the basis of their HIV status. People have been fired or had job offers rescinded on the basis of their HIV status. Indeed, shame and fear about the infection prevents many from getting tested in the first place. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 15 percent of Americans with HIV don’t know that they have it.
