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Anna D. Kraus

Anna Durand Kraus has a multi-disciplinary practice advising clients on issues relating to the complex array of laws governing the health care industry. Her background as Deputy General Counsel to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) gives her broad experience with, and valuable insight into, the programs and issues within the purview of HHS, including Medicare, Medicaid, fraud and abuse, and health information privacy. Ms. Kraus regularly advises clients on Medicare reimbursement matters, the Medicaid Drug Rebate program, health information privacy issues (including under HIPAA and the HITECH Act), and the challenges and opportunities presented by the Affordable Care Act.

By Libbie CanterAnna D. KrausOlivia VegaElizabeth Brim & Jorge Ortiz on April 14, 2023

On April 11, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced that four Notifications of Enforcement Discretion (“Notifications”) that were issued under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

On February 1, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced its first-ever enforcement action under its Health Breach Notification Rule (“HBNR”) against digital health platform GoodRx Holdings Inc. (“GoodRx”) for failing to notify consumers and others of its unauthorized disclosures of consumers’ personal health information to third-party advertisers.  According to the proposed order, GoodRx will pay a $1.5 million civil penalty and be prohibited from sharing users’ sensitive health data with third-party advertisers in order to resolve the FTC’s complaint. 

This announcement marks the first instance in which the FTC has sought enforcement under the HBNR, which was promulgated in 2009 under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (“HITECH”) Act, and comes just sixteen months after the FTC published a policy statement expanding its interpretation of who is subject to the HBNR and what triggers the HBNR’s notification requirement.  Below is a discussion of the complaint and proposed order, as well as key takeaways from the case.

The Complaint

As described in the complaint, GoodRx is a digital healthcare platform that advertises, distributes, and sells health-related products and services directly to consumers.  As part of these services, GoodRx collects both personal and health information from its consumers.  According to the complaint, GoodRx “promised its users that it would share their personal information, including their personal health information, with limited third parties and only for limited purposes; that it would restrict third parties’ use of such information; and that it would never share personal health information with advertisers or other third parties.”  The complaint further alleged that GoodRx disclosed its consumers’ personal health information to various third parties, including advertisers, in violation of its own policies.  This personal health information included users’ prescription medications and personal health conditions, personal contact information, and unique advertising and persistent identifiers.

Continue Reading FTC Announces First Enforcement Action Under Health Breach Notification Rule

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Covered Health Care Providers

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