Lanton Law Blog

Learn about the latest trends and activities through our blog posts.

With the Debate Over Data Privacy Increasing, Senator Gillibrand Proposes Legislation to Create New Data Protection Agency

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) has announced the creation of new legislation titled the Data Protection Act. According to the Senator’s press release, the bill would create “the Data Protection Agency (DPA), an independent federal agency that would protect Americans’ data, safeguard their privacy, and ensure data practices are fair and transparent.

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Private Equity Presence Grows in Physician Practices As Well As Congressional Scrutiny

As the consolidation of independent physician practices continues, one finds that there is a new player in the corporatization of medicine. While hospitals, health systems and insurers continue to make physician practice acquisitions, these entities suddenly find themselves competing against private equity firms.

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What is the Potential Fallout from FTC’s Decision to Investigate Big Tech?

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a press release announcing that the agency will examine prior acquisitions by large technology companies between the years of January 1, 2010-December 31, 2019. With a 5-0 vote, the Commission seeks to examine subsequent trends of large cap acquisition on smaller firms to determine whether competition was restricted or whether competitive concerns should have been raised.

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Surprise Medical Billing: What is it and what’s being done to stop it?

Surprise medical billing is an issue that has been widespread for a while, but due to social media and more intense scrutiny, we are now seeing the effects of how common this problem is among patients accessing our healthcare system. According to a study by Kaiser “roughly 1 of every 6 emergency room visits and inpatient hospital stays in 2017, patients came home with at least one out-of-network medical bill.” The question is what is surprise medical billing?

Surprise medical bills generally have two components. The first component is the higher amount the patient owes under her health plan, reflecting the difference in cost-sharing levels between in-network and out-of-network services. The second component of surprise medical bills is an additional amount the physician or other provider may bill the patient directly, a practice known as “balance billing.”

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Department of Justice Will Hold February 2020 Workshop on Section 230 Which Will Impact Tech Stakeholders

Earlier this month, we released a blog post titled Tech Companies and the Uncertain Future of §230. In it we focused on what Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is and how the tech community would be impacted by changes currently being debated by both sides of the political aisle in Congress. 

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Bi-Partisan Political Controversy Surrounding Cashless Stores

On January 30th, the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services held a hearing titled “Is Cash Still King? Reviewing the Rise of Mobile Payments.” The Committee headed by Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) held this hearing to determine whether businesses should be allowed or prohibited from refusing cash payments in stores. The policy rationale behind the debate is whether cashless stores would have the unintended consequences of harming marketplace access for low-income Americans who do not have a bank account. 

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Litigation Involving the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act May Hold the Key to Future Biometric Policy

The Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act enacted in 2008 was an important first step in developing policy on biometrics. According to the law, a private entity possessing biometric information accessible to the public must have a retention schedule and policy for permanently destroying biometric information. Additionally, there are restrictions on how a private entity may collect, capture, purchase, receive through trade, or otherwise obtain a person's or a customer's biometric identifier or biometric information. Most importantly, this law requires obtaining written consent prior to collecting biometric information as the law provides a private right of action for anyone injured under the Act.

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Amazon’s Hand Scanning Points to the Need for Biometrics Policy

Recently, we have learned of Amazon’s new hand scanning idea to revolutionize consumer interactions via fintech. The idea would involve creating a payment system that would biometrically scan a user’s hand to transfer payment from the user to Amazon, instead of via a credit card, phone application or cash. New point of sale terminals equipped with this technology would be placed in brick and mortar stores so that customers can “travel lighter” by not having to worry about carrying physical payment forms.

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Tech Companies and the Uncertain Future of §230

While there has long been controversy surrounding how far regulating the Internet should go, it seemed that the 2016 election has had major impacts on how and what information consumers should and should not see. From the spread of hate speech, to broadcasted violence to the confusion over what is “legitimate” news, one law is at the center of what the responsibilities are of an Internet Service Provider (ISP): 47 U.S. Code § 230. 

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Will California’s Bold Proposal to Manufacture its Own Generic Drugs Be the Answer to Lower Prescription Drug Costs?

California’s Governor Newsom (D-CA) has made a bold budgetary proposal to become the first state in the Union to manufacture its own generic prescription drug label. The purpose behind this is to make affordable medications accessible to the state’s 40 million residents.

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Seattle's New Campaign Finance Law Could Be a Sign of Things to Come

As new political alliances emerge and populism continues to push political parties to make faster adjustments, companies need to take a fresh look at how they engage with the political system in order to convey company priorities and goals. Political trends happen in small doses before they spread quickly, which is what St. Petersburg, Florida and now Seattle, Washington may be demonstrating.

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Georgia Supreme Court Sets Data Breach Precedent

In 2016, the Athens Orthopedic Clinic in Georgia was hacked by an anonymous hacking group called the “Dark Overlord.” The group’s action caused a major data breach and affected approximately 200,000 patients. The information obtained involved social security numbers, health insurance information, birth dates, and addresses.

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Pharmacy Times Recaps Lanton Law's NASP Presentation on the FDA Biosimilars Action Plan

During the 2019 National Association of Specialty Pharmacy Annual Meeting and Expo, Ron Lanton III, Esq, reviewed the FDA Biosimilars Action Plan, its implications for the biosimilar marketplace, recent legislation set to influence the biosimilar pathway and drug accessibility, and the future of the biosimilar market.

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Federal Privacy Laws Are Currently in the Making

In preparation for 2020, Lanton Law is forecasting that it is more likely than not that some form of federal privacy legislation will become law in 2020. One proposed legislative candidate for privacy in 2020 is the Consumer Online Privacy Rights Act (COPRA).

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