Were any of my rights violated? My new employer asked for detailed medical info

I was laid off and was lucky to be hired and work without losing any time. My first day was Friday, July 19. The company is based in Virginia, and I live in Texas and work remotely. After not receiving my benefits package in the US Mail for a week, I emailed HR and asked for a URL (Cigna) and login credentials so I could at least provide my ex-wife proof of coverage for our kids. HR’s reply, “As a first step please complete the health questionnaire by following the provided link.” The link was to a Microsoft Forms questionnaire and asked some questions I felt invasive. For instance:

Have you or any of your dependents included on this enrollment form within the past five years received treatment, testing, consulted with or received a diagnosis from a physician or provider for any of the following? (This question had a plethora of symptoms to select)

In the last five years, have you or any of your dependents included on this enrollment form: a. Been diagnosed with or treated for any condition(s) not identified above? ☐ Yes ☐ No b. Been advised of the necessity or possibility of any future hospitalization, treatment, testing or surgery?…☐ Yes ☐ No

Have medications been prescribed in the past 18 months for you and/or any dependents included on this enrollment form. (Include pills, creams, injections, liquids, inhalers, pumps, etc.) ☐ Yes ☐ No

Please provide FULL DETAILS to any yes/checked answers including condition(s), treatment(s), medication(s), and dates. Condition/Diagnosis 7.Dates Treated Treatment including Medications and Dosage Date Last Taken Prognosis

Being the new guy and just grateful that I had a job with full benefits, I felt I had to comply even though it made me very uncomfortable as I’ve had five surgeries and other ailments over the past six years, and the ex is ruthless. Bothered, I followed up with another email that said, “I do have a follow-up question and don’t mean to rock the boat; however, it was uncomfortable providing my personal medical history and submitting it by Microsoft Forms. I thought employees were protected by certain ADA and HIPAA laws; am I incorrect? I certainly don’t want to be denied, and by the divorce decree, I must cover my children.

I can understand asking general health questions, but being asking for “full details” felt invasive and I’m not sure how secure putting that information in Microsoft Forms is.

And this is how HR replied, “To answer your question, it is a requirement of our carrier for our SB Insurance pool. You will also find the same question on the enrollment form. Don’t worry about your enrollment; I will handle it for you.”

After a few days, I reached out to HR again to ask what the next step was, and they provided me with a link to All-State. (It was explained to me that All-State Benefits is their carrier and uses Cigna’s network for providers.) Again, I was asked to provide the same detailed medical history and prescription use. When I asked for proof of coverage, she told me it would take ten days to process.

Should I be concerned? Were they asking too much, and were my rights violated? I tried to do some research myself, but most sources told me to first contact my HR rep, who I’ve been communicating with. Also, if SB stands for something other than “sickness benefit,” please correct me. It was the best answer I could find since I’m unfamiliar with it. I’m in my late 40s and have worked at about eight different companies. This is the first time I’ve not been presented with a welcome or benefits package for a new employee, asked to provide detailed medical history, and had to seek out benefit information. In case you are wondering, this company isn’t a start-up, has been around for about 7-10 years, and maybe has a hundred employees. I was also told this, which I thought was a little unusual, “Your effective date will be 8/1, but until you receive your temporary ID card, you will need to pay out-of-pocket and claim reimbursement later through Allied.”

I originally posted this in r/healthcare, thinking it might be a HIPAA violation. They said no, and it was suggested that I post it here. Some were surprised that I was surprised when asked to provide detailed medical history to my employer saying companies have a right to the information so they can better estimate coverage.