FTC sues Hims & Hers over health data sharing; Oklahoma chiropractor convicted in $30M Medicare fraud scheme; FDA licenses first freeze-dried plasma — Morning Medical Update

FTC sues Hims & Hers over health data sharing

The complaint alleges the telehealth company sent user health information to Meta and Snap and made subscriptions hard to cancel.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), joined by Utah and by California through the Los Angeles County counsel, sued Hims & Hers on July 29, alleging the telehealth company shared users' sensitive health information with third-party advertising platforms including Meta and Snap despite promising to keep patient information private. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges Hims shared lists of certain customers with those platforms and used third-party tracking technologies that automatically transmitted visitors' actions on its website, according to the agency.

The FTC also alleges the company charges consumers for prescriptions almost immediately after they submit an online intake form, despite telling them they would be able to consult a medical provider first. Most consumers never receive that consultation and are enrolled in recurring subscription plans, according to the complaint, which further alleges Hims hid its online cancellation button behind several steps. Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said the agency "will not hesitate to act on behalf of consumers deprived of their ability to choose which products they want and whether to keep their most sensitive health information private." Reuters has more.

Oklahoma chiropractor convicted in $30M Medicare fraud scheme

A federal jury found Mark Loftis bought patient data and sham doctors' orders for braces and glucose monitors.

Mark Loftis, 39, of Cushing, Oklahoma, a chiropractor and medical supply company owner, was convicted July 21 by a federal jury in the Middle District of Florida of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud. Prosecutors said Loftis and his co-conspirators sought more than $30 million from Medicare, TRICARE and the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs for orthotic braces and continuous glucose monitors that patients did not want or need.

Loftis, who was indicted earlier this year, paid more than $1 million to marketers who worked with call centers to persuade older and disabled patients to hand over personal and insurance information, then used it to obtain signed orders from telemedicine physicians and nurse practitioners who never examined and often never spoke with the patients, according to the Justice Department. He obtained more than $8 million from the false claims and continued the scheme for three years despite complaints from beneficiaries and family members, some of whom reported that their parents had dementia or Alzheimer's disease. Loftis also concealed a conspirator's management role in his company and billed claims generated by unenrolled suppliers. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 7. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.

FDA licenses first freeze-dried plasma product

Ezplaz is stored at room temperature and reconstituted quickly, aimed at combat zones, rural areas and disaster response.

The FDA on July 29 licensed Ezplaz Freeze Dried Plasma, the first freeze-dried plasma product licensed in the United States. It is indicated for transfusion in adults who need plasma when other plasma products are not available, including patients who are bleeding, patients who need massive transfusion and certain patients on warfarin who are bleeding. Unlike conventional plasma, which must be stored frozen and thawed before use, Ezplaz is stored at room temperature, stays stable through temperature fluctuations and is rapidly reconstituted. It is packaged in a plastic bag rather than a glass bottle to reduce the risk of breakage during handling and transport.

"Patients experiencing life-threatening bleeding in combat zones, disasters, rural settings, or other austere environments may now have faster access to plasma when conventional frozen plasma is unavailable," said Karim Mikhail, B. Pharm., M.S., acting director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, in the agency's announcement.

The product is derived from a single unit of fresh frozen plasma and comes in Group AB and Group A with low-titer anti-B blood types, chosen to limit risk when it is given before a patient's blood type is known. Freeze-dried plasma was among the first products identified under Public Law 115-92, the 2017 law authorizing Defense Department collaboration with the FDA to speed development of products for serious conditions facing military personnel. The license went to Vascular Solutions LLC, a subsidiary of Teleflex.