TCPA Violations By Health Care Companies
Lawsuits based on violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) have been growing in the last few months. Many lawsuits by consumers and companies in the industry have reportedly been against providers of health care programs or pharmaceutical providers because of unfair debt collections, patient notifications, prescription sales and unsolicited faxing. The TCPA lays out the rules for how health care companies and other industries communicate with people and each through telephone calls, texts, and faxes. Health care and medical product marketers have been skirting the fence on what is legal when trying to contact people. The alleged practices have gone so far past the boundaries set by the FCC that many lawsuits have resulted. You may have a claim if you, your company, or anyone you know has been contacted for marketing purposes or other reasons by companies in the health or medical business that do not have your consent. Please contact us using the form on this page or call us at 424-245-5505. You may be part of a class action lawsuit.
TCPA Background
Congress passed the TCPA in 1991 due to a high amount of public complaints about harassment by companies trying to sell products to unsuspecting people. It lays out the rules for how and what type of technology companies can use to contact people for delivering marketing information, situation updates, and even patient information. For instance, the TCPA makes it illegal for health telemarketing companies to send unwanted faxes to phone systems of companies that treat patients. The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) is in charge of enforcing TCPA compliance by investigating complaints and punishing companies that break the law. The FCC’s ruling in July, 2015 makes the illegality of practices like these much more clear for companies in violation. For more on how the TCPA protects people, click here.
Health Care Company Violations
It has been reported that many patients and their families have complained of recent violations by health care companies and their agents or affiliates that contacted them without the proper consent. People have complained that they did not give the prior express consent (required by the TCPA) for these companies to contact them about health care services or health care debt. In a lawsuit based on prescription services, two violations of the TCPA were alleged by a woman who enrolled in a health care plan after she received calls on her cellphone about a discounted 90-day supply option for prescriptions she had been filling monthly.
Additionally, a recent health care provider lawsuit against a pharmacy benefit manager claimed two junk faxes the manager sent constituted unsolicited advertisements in violation of the TCPA. There have been widespread reports of companies repeatedly sending junk faxes to health care providers like hospitals in violation of TCPA rules. If this has happened to you or your company please contact us using the form on this page or call us at 424-245-5505 You may be part of a class action lawsuit.
Potential Class Action
Health care marketers and medical debt collectors are prohibited by the TCPA from contacting or making collections calls or sending junk faxes to patients, doctors or health care providers without prior express consent. If you, your company or someone you know has been contacted for reasons like this, you may need the solutions offered by our attorneys. Please contact us to find out if you have a claim to stop this type of treatment. Use the form on this page or call us at 424-245-5505.for help with your claim.
