By: Christopher A. Parrella, Esq., CPC, CHC, CPCO
Parrella Health Law, Boston, Ma.
A Health Law Defense and Compliance Firm

On June 6th, the Justice Department and the FTC secured a court order against Monument Inc., an alcohol addiction treatment company, to enhance data privacy protections. This settlement prohibits Monument from misrepresenting its data privacy practices and from disclosing customers’ health information for advertising. The company is also mandated to implement robust measures to safeguard personal data. A $2.5 million civil penalty was imposed, though it is suspended due to Monument’s financial constraints.

Background and Allegations The complaint asserts that Monument violated the FTC Act and the Opioid Addiction Recovery Fraud Prevention Act of 2018 by falsely promising not to disclose health information without consent and failing to protect customer data adequately. This negligence allegedly led to the unauthorized disclosure of thousands of users’ health information to third parties.

FTC’s Continued Enforcement FTC Director Samuel Levine emphasized that this action reinforces the agency’s commitment to ensuring strict limits on the handling of sensitive health data, following similar actions against other companies like GoodRx, BetterHelp, and Premom. This serves as a warning to the market about the serious consequences of mishandling consumer health data.

For further inquiries regarding this Settlement or your company’s compliance with HIPAA mandates, contact Parrella Health Law at 857.328.0382 or email me directly at cparrella@parrellahealthlaw.com.

Christopher Parrella, ESQ, CPC, CHC, CPCO, is the founding partner of Parrella Health Law in Boston, Mass. The firm focuses exclusively on healthcare defense and compliance matters. Chris also travels the country on behalf of a wide range of healthcare organizations, lecturing on a variety of health care enforcement and compliance topics. Chris is one of a handful of health care attorney’s that are also Certified Professional Coders (CPC) and is a member of the AAPC’s National Legal Advisory Board and Ethics Committee.  He is also a Certified Professional Compliance Officer (CPCO) and Certified in Health Care Compliance (CHC.)