In a dramatic legal showdown, the American Hospital Association, joined by three other healthcare organizations, has launched a fervent appeal to a Texas federal court to dismantle the controversial federal guidelines hindering certain healthcare entities from employing online tracking technology. The battle intensifies as the data collected from visitors to their websites purportedly ventures “far outside” the purview of protection offered by federal health privacy laws.
Hospitals Rally Against ‘Flawed’ Online Tracking Rules: Challenging the Status Quo
In their latest legal move, the hospital association and its allies, who initiated legal proceedings last November, are now pushing for summary judgment, asserting that the 2022 guidance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on online tracking technology is not just legally flawed but also poses a threat to administrative processes and policies.
Unraveling the Legal Tangle
The battleground centers around rules restricting health care providers covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) from utilizing third-party web technologies capturing IP addresses on specific sections of their public-facing websites. The organizations argue that widely-used tracking technologies like Meta Pixel or Google Analytics play a pivotal role in sharing “vital information” with the public.
The HIPAA Dilemma
They contend that HHS overreaches its statutory authority by suggesting that such efforts might violate HIPAA’s restrictions on disclosing individually identifiable health information. According to the organizations, until recently, this practice was not under HIPAA’s scrutiny, as providers could share IP addresses of visitors to Unauthenticated Public Webpages without violating the law.
Defying the Odds
Despite HHS attempting to bring this information under the law’s umbrella in a December 2022 bulletin, the organizations maintain that the IP addresses of individuals visiting health-related webpages remain outside the defined boundaries. They argue that this information does not provide a reasonable basis to identify individuals and falls short of HIPAA’s requirements.
Hospitals Rally Against ‘Flawed’ Online Tracking Rules: First Amendment Concerns
The organizations highlight serious First Amendment concerns, emphasizing the potential restriction on hospitals’ rights to provide metadata from public webpages to technology vendors for enhancing communicative tools.
Reiterating the Legal Assault
The American Hospital Association, joined by the Texas Hospital Association, Texas Health Resources, and United Regional Health Care System, reiterates their claims from November 2023 that the rules violate the Administrative Procedure Act. They argue that HHS provided an “arbitrary-and-capricious rationale” and failed to engage in a notice-and-comment rulemaking process.
Hospitals Rally Against ‘Flawed’ Online Tracking Rules: A Radical Shift Unjustified
The organizations criticize HHS for its “conclusory assertion” that IP addresses linked to webpage visits constitute covered personal information under HIPAA without adequate reasoning. They further accuse the agency of failing to consider the myriad motivations individuals may have for visiting health-related websites.
Enforcement Under Scrutiny
The groups challenge HHS’s exemption claim to the notice-and-comment rulemaking process, stating that the online tracking rules significantly alter covered entities’ obligations. They emphasize HHS’s swift enforcement and launch of compliance investigations, backed by civil penalties, soon after issuing the new rule.
Lingering Silence
As the legal drama unfolds, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra and Melanie Fontes Rainer, the director of the agency’s Office of Civil Rights, named as defendants in the case, are yet to respond to the hospital organization’s challenge. The agency remained unreachable for comment on Friday.
Legal Titans at Play
Represented by Hashim Mooppan, Rebekah Kcehowski, Jack Millman, Audrey Beck, and Jonathan Guynn of Jones Day, the American Hospital Association and other plaintiffs are poised for a legal battle against Chetan A. Patil of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Division, representing the Department of Health and Human Services and other defendants.
