In Latest Lawsuit, Aetna Hit Over HIV Patient Disclosures

Feb. 08--Aetna Inc. is being sued in yet another legal action over the disclosure of HIV information of thousands of insured customers.

Kurtzman Carson Consultants LLC, an insurance and financial services administrative business, on Tuesday sued Aetna, accusing it of breach of contract and negligence. It accuses the Hartford health insurer and its law firm, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, of causing the disclosure.

"Contrary to representations Aetna and Gibson have made about their commitment to, and expertise in, health care privacy matters, Aetna and Gibson caused the disclosure of the HIV/AIDS status and HIV/AIDS drug prevention use of thousands of Aetna's insureds throughout the country," KCC said in its lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles.

An Aetna spokesman declined to comment Wednesday. Gibson did not immediately respond to a phone call and email seeking comment.

The previous day, Aetna sued KCC. The administrative support company is a class-action settlement administrator, responsible for mailing documents and handling secure data. Aetna said in its lawsuit that KCC was the administrator for two class-action lawsuits filed against Aetna in 2014 and 2015.

Its work included mailing a settlement notice and processing claims, Aetna said.

In its lawsuit, Aetna said KCC was responsible for "errors, omissions and gross negligence" related to a mailing to about 12,000 Aetna members. The mailing "potentially disclosed" protected health information, Aetna said.

Drake D. Foster, general counsel at KCC, called the allegations "demonstrably false."

In July, Aetna mailed a notice in envelopes with large, clear windows that showed recipients had been prescribed HIV medications. The lawsuit alleged that the names of 13,487 Aetna customers who had the medications were given to the vendor sending the envelopes and 11,875 received the mailing.

Aetna reached a $17 million settlement last month in a federal class-action lawsuit filed over the privacy breach that disclosed where to purchase HIV medications.

If the proposed settlement is approved by the courts, all members of the class-action will receive between $75 and $500.

That lawsuit began with a Pennsylvania man who said his sister learned he was taking HIV medication when she saw the envelope. The man did not have the virus that causes AIDS but was taking medication as a preventative measure.

KCC said in its lawsuit that Aetna and Gibson failed to establish "appropriate protective measures to maintain the safety and security" of protected health information in the mailing.

It also accused Aetna and Gibson of failing to inform or warn KCC that they failed to establish protective measures.

"KCC did not mail any notices that did not receive the prior express approval of Gibson and/or Aetna," it said.

In its lawsuit, KCC said public documents show Aetna has faced as many as 10 lawsuits over the disclosure of confidential health information related to the mailing.

And it said Aetna has agreed to pay more than $1.1 million in penalties to New York state to resolve an investigation initiated by Attorney General.

"Instead of accepting responsibility for this unfortunate incident, Aetna has demanded that KCC indemnify and reimburse Aetna for any and all losses arising from the incident," KCC said.

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