Since about 39 million people rely on Aetna for their health insurance, the company may be able to help with a wide range of legal cases. Whether a policyholder needs to show that a visit was covered or prove in court that they’re owed personal injury damages, attorneys frequently contact Aetna’s team for assistance.
If you’re a lawyer contending with medical record legalities, issuing an out-of-state subpoena on Aetna may be essential for your client’s case. Read on for a subpoena process guide and to learn more about how professional process servers can speed up legal procedures.
What Is an Out-of-State Subpoena?
Out-of-state subpoenas are those that must be served in a different state from the one in which they initially originated.They are also called “foreign subpoenas” because each state is a different jurisdiction.
Attorneys don’t always handle cases where evidence is exclusively located in their own state. Sometimes a client will require evidence from out-of-state to strengthen their case.
For example, if you work with a client in North Carolina who needs evidence for their personal injury case, you may need to subpoena Aetna as their health insurance provider.
Aetna is headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut. However, the address to which courts serve subpoena orders is in California. As a result, they will only respond to legal processes that work within California law.
To make this happen, the subpoena order must be domesticated in California. Domestication makes the subpoena legally valid in the state where courts will serve it to Aetna.
Subpoena Domestication: The Basics
Attorneys who domesticate subpoenas transfer them from one state jurisdiction to another.
A North Carolina attorney will need to transfer their subpoena to California courts before serving it to Aetna. If they do not, Aetna’s team will reject the order without providing you with any information you request. This is because Aetna is not legally mandated to comply with a subpoena unless it is valid in its own jurisdiction.
This process is critical for lawyers as they:
- Gather evidence for their client(s)
- Connect the dots between case-related events
- Put together a strong case with ample evidence
- Conduct depositions
- Compel witness testimonies
Before lawyers can domesticate a subpoena, they will need to know to whom courts must serve it. This information can be difficult to find without a legal support agency. Serve Index LLC does the work of researching and understanding Aetna’s corporate structure so your subpoena is served to the right entity.
When to Subpoena Aetna
There are many different situations where lawyers may want to serve an out-of-state subpoena on Aetna. Civil cases are a common reason that attorneys subpoena information from their legal team.
If you and your client are trying to prove that a claim was wrongfully denied, you might subpoena information about that claim from Aetna. This will let you evaluate the reasons for denial and whether or not they worked within federal and state law requirements.
Personal Injury Cases
Personal injury cases are commonly civil cases. These are some of the most common cases in which lawyers must subpoena health insurance providers.
For example, if your client was injured in an auto accident, subpoenaing recent insurance claims will show that they went to the hospital for them. You can also see how much of the medical bills the insurance covered. This information lets you know what damages you may be able to recover for your client in a civil car accident lawsuit.
Medical Malpractice Lawsuits
Health insurance records might also make a difference in medical malpractice cases.You can definitively prove when your client went to the doctor and what insurance claims they made after their visit.
You may also be able to subpoena records for other patients of the doctor who you’re trying to claim is guilty of medical malpractice. If they have a history of problems, your case may be stronger. Aetna might be able to give you more information about claims people made after seeing that doctor so you can put together a better case.
Criminal Cases
In criminal cases, medical records and information about insurance claims can also:
- Help you assess the defendant’s mental state by showing you if they have serious mental health issues or substance abuse problems
- Show you the extent of your client’s injuries after they were the victim of a crime
- Connect the condition of your client with the actions of the defendant
Whether you are working on getting compensation in a civil case or seeking justice in criminal courts, Aetna might have information that can assist you.
Emergency Requests vs Subpoenas
Aetna also evaluates cases labeled “Emergency Request for Disclosure.” These are exclusively for use in situations where information might save someone from imminent harm or death.
They’re evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and Aetna may provide the information quickly if they agree that doing so can decrease the likelihood of harming someone.
Note that an Emergency Request for Disclosure may not require all the same processes as a normal subpoena since you can make emergency requests by emailing [email protected].
What Information Can Aetna Offer?
Luckily, Aetna offers all necessary information when subpoenaed by appropriate entities. You can obtain information about a policyholder’s personal and health-related information, such as:
- Payment information
- Personal information on the account, including a member’s name/address/phone number
- Recent claims
- Medical history, including past treatments
- What prescriptions someone gets through the insurance
- Accepted and denied claims
- Eligibility information about Aetna plans and whether someone is covered by Aetna
- Underwriting information used to assess risk when a person applied for insurance
However, there are some limits to what they can offer as well. If you are looking for someone’s medical records, they may need special authorization to do so. Aetna needs to safeguard Protected Health Information under both national and state laws.
Luckily, subpoena orders usually intrinsically authorize Aetna authorities to provide most necessary information. It’s a court order, so it overrides HIPAA’s PHI rule. However, this is only true when attorneys serve a valid subpoena through the appropriate legal channels.
Serving an Out-of-State Subpoena on Aetna With UIDDA Procedures
Aetna’s website notes that its legal team only accepts subpoenas delivered by process servers or via US-certified mail. Out-of-state subpoenas require a reputable process server. Simply mailing the subpoena to Aetna’s California address will not be legally binding since it has not undergone the domestication process.
UIDDA: What to Know
The Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act (UIDDA) standardizes the subpoena domestication process across the US. It was developed in 2007. As of 2025, only New Hampshire has not adopted it.
Luckily, Aetna’s legal department operates from California. Even if you need to subpoena their headquarters rather than their specialized legal team, they are based in Connecticut. New Hampshire’s lack of UIDDA adoption has nothing to do with Aetna subpoenas.
The UIDDA is beneficial for several reasons, including:
- A streamlined process that requires no commissions or letters rogatory in the discovery state’s courts
- A standard procedure that makes serving subpoenas easier and more consistent for courts in all states that have adopted it
- Less confusion about the role of expert process servers in subpoena domestication cases
- Less work for trial courts since they don’t need to manage complex legal processes in multiple jurisdictions
- Lower costs because of reduced judicial involvement throughout the domestication process
Serve Index LLC gets medical records access by initiating processes outlined in the UIDDA on Aetna.
Drafting Subpoena Documents
When drafting an original subpoena, attorneys request the specific information needed from Aetna. For example, you might ask for all accepted insurance claims within the past six months and how much the company paid on behalf of the policyholder. You also may request a history of denied claims during the policyholder’s entire time holding a plan with Aetna.
Some attorneys also request information about other accounts. This is because gathering information about defendants and witnesses can make or break a case.
To create a comprehensive data request, you must include specific information on your subpoena document. Some things to put in the subpoena order include:
- Relevant case details
- The name of the court issuing the subpoena order
- Your client’s name and contact information
- Information about your client’s Aetna policy (or the policy of the person whose data you’re requesting in the subpoena)
- A complete list of all the information you want sent to you
Filing an Out-of-State Subpoena With Process Servers
Once your subpoena documents are complete, it’s time to file your out-of-state subpoena with the clerks in the jurisdiction it must be domesticated in.
If you’re an attorney based in New York, you don’t need to file the subpoena with the New York courts. Lawyers operating in Texas don’t need to file it with Texas courts, either.
Regardless of your state, you need to file the subpoena on Aetna directly with the California courts that will serve it.
Lawyers can file subpoenas:
- In person
- By snail mail
- Over fax systems
- Through electronic filing platforms
Serve Index LLC makes it easier to file a foreign subpoena on Aetna. Our professionals will:
- Figure out which CA court the subpoena documents must be filed with
- Do the heavy lifting of filling out filing documentation with California courts
- Serve the subpoena to Aetna’s legal department
These legal compliance stepsensure that interstate medical records are easily accessible.
At this point, Aetna will be legally mandated to comply with your subpoena requests. If they do not do so, they may be faced with hefty fines or contempt of court charges.
Why Work With Serve Index LLC?
Serve Index LLC is a comprehensive legal support agency. We offer help with subpoena domestication by completing every stage of the filing process for clients. The attorneys we work with can expect:
- An accurate assessment of their specific situation
- Professionals who uphold high standards when filing court documents
- Meticulous research about court processes and subpoena laws in the state where the subpoena is being filed
- Help locating defendants who are evading subpoenas
- Operating within stringent timeframes to get you the evidence you need
Working with experts for subpoena domestication on Aetna ensures that the terms of the UIDDA are rigorously upheld so your subpoena documentation is legally binding.
Serve Index LLC doesn’t just help lawyers file subpoenas. We also serve them to the appropriate entities at Aetna. While Aetna professionals are unlikely to be evasive, our team has the tools and resources to track down and serve papers to hard-to-locate clients as well as readily available ones.
This means that you can rest assured in their timely delivery!
Additionally, lawyers who work with us can choose:
- 3-5 day delivery of subpoena forms
- 24-48 hour rush delivery
- Same-day delivery in the most time-sensitive cases
You can rely on our team not to waste your time and money with long, drawn-out processes. However, we are also committed to ensuring your subpoena gets to Aetna’s team. Our team makes three attempts at serving the subpoena to the appropriate entities.
Our Commitment to Excellence
Regardless of the option you select, you can expect:
- Legally binding filing of subpoena documents
- To get a quote with accurate calculations for witness fees
- An emailed version of your Affidavit of Service for easy access
- Consistent real-time updates about your paperwork’s status
Professionals at Serve Index LLC are also well-versed in communication.
We will answer your questions throughout the subpoena process to ensure that there is no confusion. We also know how to talk with courts in the state where your subpoena is served for clearer communication between all parties.
Domesticate a Foreign Subpoena the Right Way
Now that you know how to serve an out-of-state subpoena on Aetna, it’s time to learn more about subpoena domestication with expert assistance.
Serve Index LLC is proud to help lawyers nationwide gather evidence for any case. Our full-service legal processing team has a longstanding reputation with individual clients and corporate entities because of our thorough and precise processes.
Contact us online with any remaining questions you have for our expert document specialists. You can also call us at 888-994-6339 or send us an email at [email protected].
