Pharmacy giants give medical records to police without demanding warrants

Several pharmacy giants gave patients' medical records to law enforcement agencies without warrants, a new congressional investigation revealed Tuesday.

A press release from the United States Senate Committee on Finance revealed that large pharmacy companies, including CVS Health, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Cigna, Optum Rx, Walmart Stores, the Kroger Company, Rite Aid Corporation, and Amazon Pharmacy, provided private health information to law enforcement agencies without a court order.

Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington), and Representative Sara Jacobs (D-California) wrote a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra on Tuesday informing the department of their oversight inquiry's findings.

"Through briefings with the major pharmacies, we learned that each year law enforcement agencies secretly obtain the prescription records of thousands of Americans without a warrant," the Democratic lawmakers wrote. "In many cases, pharmacies are handing over sensitive medical records without review by a legal professional."

The letter also claimed that most of the pharmacy giants have failed to inform patients that their private medical information is being provided to law enforcement agencies despite being legally required to do so.

The lawmakers previously contacted the HHS in July, demanding the agency increase protections for Americans' medical records by strengthening HIPAA regulations.

The oversight inquiry found that privacy practices "vary widely" between various pharmacy companies.

"All of the pharmacies surveyed stated that they do not require a warrant prior to sharing pharmacy records with law enforcement agents, unless there is a state law that dictates otherwise," the letter explained. "Those pharmacies will turn medical records over in response to a mere subpoena, which often do not have to be reviewed or signed by a judge prior to being issued."

Only Amazon Pharmacy stated that it notifies its patients when a law enforcement agency has demanded their medical records, the letter stated. CVS Health is the only pharmacy publishing annual transparency reports regarding law enforcement's requests for medical records, it added. Walgreen Boots Alliance and the Kroger Company stated they would provide similar reporting.

Wyden shared a chart on X detailing the top eight pharmacies' privacy practices.

"It turns out that the major pharmacies in the U.S. routinely provide patient medical records to law enforcement without a warrant. The potential ramifications of this for anyone on birth control, medication for mental illness or other personal conditions are staggering," Wyden stated.

CVS Health told the Washington Post that its policies align with HIPAA. The spokesperson noted that its team is "trained on how to appropriately respond to lawful requests from regulatory agencies and law enforcement."

"We have suggested a warrant or judge-issued subpoena requirement be considered and we look forward to working cooperatively with Congress to strengthen patient privacy protections," a CVS Health spokesperson told the Post.

According to the spokesperson, most law enforcement requests are confidential, preventing the pharmacy from alerting its patients. However, for those without a confidentiality requirement, the pharmacy considers "on a case-by-case basis whether it's appropriate to notify the individual."

A Walgreens spokesperson told the Post that the company abides by HIPAA policies and takes its "customers' privacy seriously as well as our obligation to law enforcement."

An Amazon Pharmacy spokesperson told the Post that it cooperates with law enforcement requests as required. The spokesperson noted that those requests "represent a very small percentage of the prescriptions we fill for customers."

Rite Aid declined to comment, the Post reported.

The HHS and the other pharmacy companies did not respond to a request for comment from The Hill or the Washington Post.

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