062 3190 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 

______________________________ 

 ) 

 ) 

In the Matter of ) DOCKET NO. C-4214 

 ) 

INGENIX , INC. ) 

 ) 

COMPLAINT 

The Federal Trade Commission, having reason to believe that Ingenix, Inc. 

(“respondent”), has violated provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. § 

1681 et seq., and the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. § 41 et seq., and it 

appearing to the Commission that this proceeding is in the public interest, alleges: 

 1. Respondent, a wholly owned subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated, is a 

Delaware corporation with its principal office or place of business located at 12125 

Technology Drive, Eden Prairie, Minnesota. 

 2. Since at least 2003, respondent has marketed MedPoint, a data aggregation 

service that provides individual medical profiles, including, but not limited to the 

prescription drug purchase histories of insurance applicants to health and life insurance 

companies. 

 

3. Respondent has contractual relationships with insurance companies that use 

MedPoint for underwriting or claims review purposes. These insurance companies 

require applicants to sign a consent form, which authorizes the insurance company or its 

agents to access the consumer’s health and medical records, including prescription drug 

records. 

4. Respondent has contractual relationships with Pharmacy Benefit Managers 

(“PBM”), which maintain records of individuals’ prescription drug histories. Respondent 

obtains an insurance applicant’s five-year prescription drug history from the PBMs and 

creates a prescription medical profile on the applicant for the insurance company. The 

medical profile generated by MedPoint includes, but is not limited to, prescription drugs, 

including dosage and number of refills filled by the insurance applicant for the previous 

five years. It also includes for each drug, the name and address of the dispensing 

pharmacy, as well as the name and address of the prescribing doctor, including specialty 

medical practice. The medical profile generated by MedPoint analyzes the individual’s 

prescription drug history, and provides, based on that analysis, potential medical 

conditions that may be present and predictive scores for the individual. 

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5. The medical profile generated by MedPoint is a consumer report as that term is 

defined in Section 603(d) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1681a(d), 

because it bears on a consumer’s credit worthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, 

character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living, which is used or 

expected to be used or collected in whole or in part for the purpose of serving as a factor 

in establishing a consumer’s eligibility for credit or insurance. 

6. In providing medical profiles generated by MedPoint to insurers, respondent is 

now and has been a consumer reporting agency, as that term is defined in Section 603(f) 

of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1681a(f), because it regularly engages in 

the practice of assembling or evaluating consumer credit information or other information 

on consumers for the purpose of furnishing consumer reports to third parties for monetary 

fees, dues, or on a cooperative nonprofit basis. Respondent furnishes these consumer 

reports to third parties through the means or facilities of interstate commerce. 

7. Section 607(d) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1681e(d), requires 

that any consumer reporting agency provide, to any person to whom it provides a 

consumer report, a “Notice To Users of Consumer Reports: Obligations of Users Under 

the FCRA,” the required content of which is set forth in 16 CFR 698, Appendix H. 

Respondent has failed and continues to fail to provide this notice to insurance companies 

that purchase medical profiles generated by MedPoint. 

8. By and through the practices described above, respondent has violated Section 

607(d) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. §1681e(d). 

9. By its violation of Section 607(d) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and pursuant 

to Section 621(a) thereof, 15 U.S.C. § 1681s, respondent has engaged in unfair and 

deceptive acts and practices in or affecting commerce in violation of Section 5(a)(1) of 

the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45(a). 

THEREFORE, the Federal Trade Commission this sixth day of February, 2008, has 

issued this complaint against respondent. 

By the Commission. 

Donald S. Clark 

Secretary 

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