By I. Edwards HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
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THURSDAY, March 6, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Florida\u2019s insurance regulator is demanding detailed prescription data on millions of patients, raising alarms over patient privacy.<\/p>\n
In January, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation asked pharmacy benefit managers — companies that manage prescription drug plans — to hand over highly personal data about prescriptions filled in the state last year.<\/p>\n
The data request includes the patients’ full names and dates of birth, names of medications filled and doctors they’ve seen.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s unclear why the state wants these details. In a letter to one benefit manager reviewed by The New York Times<\/em>, the regulator said Florida needed to check whether pharmacy benefit managers are following a 2023 state law that aimed to lower drug prices.<\/p>\n But employers and others say the request could expose highly sensitive health data to misuse.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t need such granular patient information for purposes of oversight,\u201d Sharona Hoffman<\/a>, a health law and privacy expert at Case Western Reserve University, told The Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to worry: Is the government actually trying to get information about reproductive care or transgender care or mental health care?\u201d she added.<\/p>\n The data demand comes at a time when Florida has passed strict laws restricting abortion access and transgender care.<\/p>\n These laws require that doctors dispense abortion pills in person and limit access to gender-affirming care for minors.<\/p>\n Florida\u2019s data request could, in theory, be used to check whether doctors are following these laws — although the state has not said whether that\u2019s the reason, The Times <\/em>reported.<\/p>\n The American Benefits Council<\/a>, which represents 430 large employers and service organizations, said the request “violates the health privacy and security of millions of Floridians,\u201d and that the state had failed to clearly outline its authority or reasons for the action.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a duty to employees and their data,\u201d Katy Johnson<\/a>, the president of the council, said in an interview.<\/p>\n Shiloh Elliott<\/a>, a spokeswoman for the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, said the objections \u201care clearly from those who do not want to be regulated or have any oversight in their industry.” She added that the office \u201cwill continue to request data in the best interest to protect consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n Elliott added that concerns \u201cshould be addressed to the actual health care insurance companies that have had countless data breaches exposing millions of Americans\u2019 sensitive information.\u201d<\/p>\n Experts say Florida already has access to prescription data for Medicaid patients, but that data is usually tightly restricted to staff who need it.<\/p>\n Joseph Shields<\/a>, president of Transparency-Rx, a trade group for smaller benefit managers, called Florida\u2019s request \u201cpretty expansive and unprecedented.\u201d<\/p>\n Rosa Novo<\/a>, benefits director for Miami-Dade County Public Schools, which provides health insurance to about 45,000 people, told The Times<\/em> she supports efforts to reduce drug prices — but not at the expense of their privacy.<\/p>\n \u201cMy doctor is the only one who should know that,\u201d Novo said.<\/p>\n More information<\/strong><\/p>\n The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has more on the HIPAA Privacy Rule<\/a>.<\/p>\n