Allina Health System, a nonprofit health system based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that serves patients in Minnesota and Western Wisconsin, has agreed to pay $12,500,000 to resolve litigation over its use of website tracking technologies such as pixels. Those tools were alleged to have resulted in the disclosure of personally identifiable information (PII) and protected health information (PHI) to third parties such as Facebook (Meta) and Google, in violation of federal and state laws.
Those tools are extensively used on websites for marketing and advertising purposes. The tools collect information about website usage, and that information can be used to improve web services. It can also be used to serve targeted advertisements to individuals, based on their interactions on a website.
Depending on how they are configured, these tools can collect individually identifiable health information when installed on healthcare providers’ websites, and if they are used on authenticated pages such as a patient portal, that information may include HIPAA-protected data. The first lawsuit over the use of these tracking tools was filed by Plaintiff Jacqueline Ahlers on September 16, 2024, in the U.
S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. An amended complaint was filed on February 12, 2025, adding a further two plaintiffs who had filed similar complaints.
The consolidated lawsuit – Ahlers, et al. v. Allina Health System – asserted claims for invasion of privacy, breach of implied contract, unjust enrichment, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of confidence, negligence, and violations of the Electronic Communication Privacy Act, Minnesota Health Records Act, and Minnesota Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
Allina Health System denies wrongdoing and liability; however, after considering the cost, distraction, burden, and risks associated with continuing with the litigation, Allina Health System agreed to a settlement. Under the terms of the settlement, Allina Health System has agreed to pay $12,500,000 to resolve the complaint. From that amount, attorneys’ fees and expenses will be deducted, along with settlement administration and notification costs, and service awards for the class representatives.
The $12,500,000 will be split into two settlement funds: A Group 1 settlement fund of $10,303,098 and a Group 2 settlement fund of $2,196,902. The attorneys’ fees/expenses, settlement administration/notification costs, and service awards will be deducted from those settlement funds with an 82. 42% (Group 1) and 17.
58% (Group 2) split. The remaining funds will be paid pro rata to individuals submitting a claim. The Group 1 settlement class consists of individuals who were patient portal users, non-portal bill pay users, and non-portal scheduling users between September 16, 2018, and May 11, 2026.
The Group 2 settlement class consists of individuals who were non-portal, non-bill pay, and non-scheduling patients between September 16, 2018, and May 11, 2026. The deadline for opting out of the settlement and objection to the settlement is August 10, 2026. Claims must be submitted by September 8, 2026, and the final approval hearing has been scheduled for September 24, 2026.
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Originally published at hipaajournal.com
