According to Beckett, he is satisfied with the settlement. He said, “HIV still has a negative stigma associated with it, and I am pleased that this encouraging agreement with Aetna shows that HIV-related information warrants special care.”
As part of the settlement, Aetna also agreed to implement new measures to avoid repeating the privacy breach.
In a statement, Aetna said, “Through our outreach efforts, immediate relief program and this settlement, we have worked to address the potential impact to members following this unfortunate incident.” It is “implementing measures to ensure something like this does not happen again.”
In addition, Aetna said it is committed to implementing best practices to protect sensitive health information.
The plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit are represented by Berger & Montague, P.C. and the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania.
Aetna reaches another settlement with New York AG
Separately, Aetna rached a settlement agreement with the New York Attorney General’s Office regarding the same issue.
