The American Association of Healthcare Administrative Management is renewing its push to get the Federal Communications Commission to grant a petition that was filed more than two years ago to update the Telephone Consumer Protection Act to widen the types of companies that are covered under the law.
A copy of the letter can be accessed by clicking here.
For those who just want the highlights, AAHAM is seeking to include the “business associates” of entities covered under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act added to the prior express consent clarification and the non-telemarketing health care message exemption. Friday’s letter does not define what would constitute a “business associate,” but the original petition filed by AAHAM indicated that the term is covered by how HIPAA defines covered entities and business associates.
AAHAM’s letter seems to be a plea for expediency, especially when it mentions the amount of time that has elapsed since the petition was filed (two years) and the amount of time that has elapsed following the Court of Appeals decision in ACA International v. FCC (five months).
“And because the Joint Petition raises discrete issues from the FCC’s ongoing proceedings on the treatment of automated telephone dialing systems (‘ATDS’), reassigned numbers, or revocation of consent, the Commission can grant the Joint Petition without affecting other TCPA decisions,” wrote Arpan Sura, a lawyer with Hogan Lovells and counsel to AAHAM. “Given the voluminous evidence on the record in support of the Joint Petition, including bipartisan endorsements from members of the House and Senate, the Commission should grant the Petition promptly to facilitate time-sensitive health care communications that patients want and need.”
