[bridanp]

This is the kind of thing that induces panic attacks in my business because so much time is spent on the look and feel of any letter going out to customers, and so little time is spent on the finished product (ie QA process for the letter in the envelope). It's probably not a matter of the company being evil (although Aetna could probably be described that way at times). It's more than likely 1) the lack of proper procedure in place regarding mass mailing, 2) the lack of a standardized Quality Assurance program, and/or 3) a 3rd party was contracted out by Aetna to do the mass mailing and they you could probably wrap back through #1 and #2 for them as well.

None of scenarios can diminish just how awful this is of course. There are some things you can get wrong on that envelope that are bad, but not really livelihood threatening. This is life changing for a huge number of people I'm sure, and the companies involved should be held accountable for the breach.

[jacquesm]

> 3rd party was contracted out by Aetna to do the mass mailing and they you could probably wrap back through #1 and #2 for them as well.

To contract this out would be a terrible breach of protocol.

[MaxfordAndSons]

>To contract this out would be a terrible breach of protocol.

That's false. HIPPA covered entities are allowed to engage contractors, who are allowed to handle protected health information (they also must comply with HIPPA, of course).

Source: have worked for an HIO (health information organization, a type of HIPPA compliant contractor), and https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/faq/547/to-what-...

[jacquesm]

You are 100% correct, I messed that up. What came to mind was the likes of Sendgrid or Mailchimp. Apologies and thank you for the correction.