Some consumer attorneys have filed Telephone Consumer Protection Act claims alleging a debt collector lacks consent to collect medical debt even if the consumer gave the medical provider his/her cell phone number because of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act privacy restrictions.
On Jan. 20, 2012, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois held a consumer consented to receiving a call on his cell phone by giving his number to a medical provider, and HIPAA did not render such consent ineffective.
In Mitchem v. Illinois Collection Serv., Inc., a consumer provided his cell phone number to a medical provider when he received treatment. When the consumer failed to pay his medical bill, the provider forwarded his account to a collection agency. The collection agency used an automatic dialing device to place numerous calls and prerecorded messages to the consumer’s cell phone. The consumer filed a class action lawsuit against the collection agency asserting the agency violated the TCPA by placing calls to consumers’ cell phones without prior consent.
The consumer argued in the context of medical debts, HIPAA made ineffective any consent that would otherwise arise by providing his cell phone number to the medical provider because protected health information, such as a cell phone number, cannot be disclosed under HIPAA.
The court disagreed, reasoning HIPAA allows medical providers to release PHI without a consumer’s consent for payment purposes. The court also found that because a cell phone number is “reasonably necessary” for a debt collector to obtain payment of a medical debt, a provider may disclose a cell phone number to a collector under HIPAA. Moreover, the court questioned whether HIPAA had any effect on whether a consumer consent to receive calls under the TCPA.
Accordingly, the court granted the collector’s motion for summary judgment.
The favorable ruling may help with other pending cases related to this issue.