Morrison Foerster’s State and Local Government Task Force is pleased to provide our bimonthly newsletter summarizing some of the most important and interesting developments from state attorneys general across the country and...more
California AG Rob Bonta issued letters to eight large pharmacy chains and five health data companies reminding the companies of their obligations to comply with California’s Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CMIA)...more
On January 1, California's Assembly Bill No. 352 (AB 352) went into effect, introducing significant changes to the handling and sharing of sensitive health information — particularly information related to reproductive health...more
Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed multiple bills into law as part of California’s ongoing efforts to safeguard access to reproductive and gender affirming health care. The new laws are intended to increase protections for...more
California is taking steps through Assembly Bill 254 (the “Bill”), approved by the State’s Governor on September 27, 2023, to ensure that patient information collected through reproductive or sexual health applications enjoys...more
On July 20, 2023, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent a joint letter to approximately 130 hospital systems and telehealth...more
Assembly Bill 2089 expands consumer rights and protections over individually identifiable health information by revising existing definitions under the California Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (“CMIA”) to include...more
California passed Assembly Bill (AB) 2089, which amends the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CMIA) to include mental health application information under the definition of medical information....more
The US Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) declaration that COVID-19 remains a public health emergency (PHE) will continue through July 15, 2022, and is expected to be renewed again through October 13, 2022....more
The wave of new state legislation limiting abortion access has raised concerns about the privacy and security of reproductive health data not subject to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Some...more
Ready or not, Roe v. Wade leak or not, health app developers are on notice. Those that collect sensitive personal information, such as reproductive data, must carefully navigate both federal and state laws. These laws are...more
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has issued statement about protecting health data in mobile apps in view of the upcoming SCOTUS decision in Dobbs. In the process, he also signaled continued enforcement....more
The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), considered one of the most expansive U.S. privacy laws to date, went into effect on January 1, 2020. The CCPA placed significant limitations on the collection and sale of a...more
On October 6, 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law the Genetic Information Privacy Act (GIPA). This follows Governor Newsom’s veto of an earlier version of the bill almost exactly one year ago. ...more
On August 12, 2021, the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina issued an opinion denying in part and granting in part a motion by Blackbaud to dismiss seven statutory claims brought by plaintiffs in a...more
In a first-of-its-kind ruling interpreting the CCPA, a federal judge concluded that a business was subject to the CCPA because the complaint allegations satisfied the "for profit" requirement of this California privacy law....more
Key Point: California AG Becerra’s investigation into security flaws in the Glow fertility app results in a settlement agreement that resembles recent enforcement agreements in New York but is also unique in requiring the...more
This week, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law two amendments to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) that would impact various CCPA exemptions....more
Recently we wrote about two amendments to the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) that were awaiting signature on Governor Newsom’s desk: AB 1281 – which extends the one-year exemptions for employee information and...more
On September 28, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB-713 into law, which relaxes some of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) compliance challenges faced by the health care and life science industries — more...more
In September, the California Attorney General (the “AG”) reached a settlement with Glow, Inc. (“Glow”), a technology company that is responsible for an ovulation and fertility-tracking mobile application called the Glow app....more
The California legislature recently passed AB 713 which is an amendment to the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA). This bill will take effect immediately on September 30, 2020 once Governor Gavin Newsom signs the...more
In a flurry of legislative activity, the California legislature passed a number of last-minute privacy bills that now await the signature of Governor Gavin Newsom in order to go into effect. As was expected, the California...more
This second installment assesses options for moving forward to address emerging gaps and an evolving health care industry. Why? Because the substantial history behind the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act...more
Hospitals and health systems are facing consumer demand for innovation, the need to expand and enhance streams of revenue and the push for improved quality, all while navigating changing regulations, federal enforcement,...more