UnitedHealthcare corporate headquarters in Minnetonka, MN.Credit: Ken Wolter/Shutterstock.com
The Manhattan district attorney’s office and defense attorneys are having a war of words over an alleged violation of accused murderer Luigi Mangione’s medical privacy rights. Mangione is accused in the December shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and is awaiting trial in Manhattan.
Prosecutors said they initially learned of his coverage with Aetna from a search warrant served on a computer account. The filing doesn’t specify why they were seeking information from the insurer, but the requested details could be used to establish a timeline or a motive. Prosecutors subpoenaed Mangione’s medical records, saying the request was for "entirely unremarkable" information and denying it was doing anything “secretive or nefarious.” The information requested from Aetna included the defendants’ coverage and account number, prosecutors said.
Mangione's defense attorneys last month accused prosecutors of flagrantly violating HIPAA with a "false and fraudulent" subpoena and asked for prosecutors to be sanctioned and for the judge to dismiss the case. They said the information that Aetna provided was “confidential, private, protected documents.”
The insurer said it was simply complying with the law. “Aetna received a subpoena for certain medical records, and we provided them," a spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
Prosecutors, however, said Aetna provided more information than was requested.
"Given these circumstances, defendant's real complaint is not about the subpoena itself but about Aetna's response to the subpoena, which included documents that the people had not requested," Assistant District Attorney Joel Seidemann said. "The people issued a valid subpoena to Aetna for an appropriately limited set of relevant information. Through no fault of the people, Aetna seemingly provided materials outside the scope of the subpoena. The people then properly identified the error and notified the court and the defense, and deleted our copy of said materials."
Mangione’s attorneys then sent prosecutors the entire Aetna file that prosecutors already had deleted, he said. "The defense nonetheless seeks to punish the people for the administrative mistakes of others, claiming that the people have perpetrated a 'lie and a fraud' against defendant -- an inflammatory and dubious accusation without any basis," Seidemann said.
Prosecutors asked the judge to set aside the defense’s complaint and instead schedule a trial date. Mangione has pleaded not guilty both to state charges and federal charges that could result in the death penalty.
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