DC Circuit Upholds Narrow TCPA Exemption for Healthcare Providers

Our article, “Recent TCPA Developments for Healthcare Providers,” which was published in the March issue of the ABA Health eSource¹ explained how the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) uniquely impacts the healthcare industry. Among the areas highlighted was the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) 2015 Order, in which the FCC limited the exemption of the TCPA to certain healthcare-related communications. The FCC’s TCPA Order was appealed to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, and a decision was pending at the time of publication of the prior article. On March 16, 2018, the DC Circuit issued its decision on the FCC’s TCPA Order (more than 16 months after oral argument). Although the DC Circuit struck down certain provisions of the 2015 TCPA Order, ² the court upheld the provisions that relate specifically to the healthcare industry.