Covered California admitted to sending personal health data—including pregnancy status and prescription use—to LinkedIn for over a year. The information was shared as part of a marketing campaign, raising serious privacy and legal concerns.
Key Facts:
- Covered California sent users’ personal health information to LinkedIn during an advertising campaign.
- The data included sensitive information such as pregnancy status, prescription drug use, and partial Social Security numbers.
- The practice may have occurred for over a year, according to a spokesperson from Covered California.
- Privacy experts say the data sharing is invasive and unnecessary; LinkedIn is already facing similar lawsuits.
- Rep. Kevin Kiley is calling for an investigation into potential HIPAA violations.
The Rest of The Story:
Covered California is the state’s official health insurance marketplace under the Affordable Care Act.
Users visiting the site were asked personal questions about their medical conditions, including whether they were pregnant or taking many prescriptions.
Without informing users directly, that data was shared with LinkedIn as part of a long-running advertising effort.
According to spokesperson Kelly Donohue, this tracking and data sharing occurred for over a year.
The revelation came after reporting from CalMatters and sparked concern from legal experts and lawmakers alike.
Covered California later confirmed that some of the shared data included first names, the last four digits of Social Security numbers, and private health information.
The agency claimed the data was only accessible to credentialed users managing its LinkedIn ad account.
Privacy advocates, however, remain unconvinced.
Sara Geoghegan of the Electronic Privacy Information Center said that for a health insurance website to send information that is “wholly irrelevant” to the uses of a for-profit company like LinkedIn is “concerning and invasive”.
This is incredibly disturbing. California's Obamacare website tracked users' personal health information – such as pregnancy and prescription drug use – and sent it to LinkedIn for a "marketing campaign."
We are asking Secretary Kennedy to investigate for HIPAA violations. https://t.co/9dPTddAbgz
— Kevin Kiley (@KevinKileyCA) April 30, 2025
Commentary:
This situation raises red flags on multiple levels.
First, there is absolutely no legitimate reason for LinkedIn—a professional networking site—to receive data about users’ medical conditions, fertility status, or prescription use.
It serves no advertising function that justifies such deeply personal information.
Second, the relationship between a health insurance exchange and a job-focused social media company is baffling.
What kind of marketing strategy requires sharing sensitive patient data with a platform not remotely involved in healthcare services?
Even worse, the excuse that this data was accessed only by “credentialed users” managing Covered California’s ad account changes nothing.
The breach of trust remains.
Health information should be protected with the highest standards—not casually passed along as part of a vague digital campaign.
Moreover, Covered California’s self-praise about lowering the uninsured rate doesn’t excuse potential HIPAA violations or the mismanagement of user trust.
This is not about healthcare access anymore.
It’s about surveillance and monetization of personal medical information.
These types of incidents point to a growing culture of disregard for privacy among institutions that should know better.
No consumer logging onto a government-run healthcare website should have to worry that their pregnancy status might end up in LinkedIn’s advertising database.
An investigation is more than justified—it’s essential.
If these actions aren’t examined and penalized, they risk becoming a quiet norm.
The Bottom Line:
Covered California quietly shared sensitive medical data with LinkedIn in a questionable marketing effort.
The data included health conditions, pregnancy status, and partial Social Security numbers.
There’s no reason for LinkedIn to ever access such personal health information.
Lawmakers are right to demand an investigation, and the public deserves transparency and accountability.
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