Obviously, a lot going on in the lead gen space over the last six weeks. The biggest change of all is the FCC’s one-to-one rule being vacated. The pivot the industry had to make immediately after that ruling affected so many businesses.
But, one thing that did not change was CMS’s requirement for one-to-one consent to share personal beneficiary data between TPMOs. This is true even though CMS’s guidance throughout the summary of the rule was all based on the FCC’s one-to-one rule.
As a reminder:
- CMS requires individualized consent: Beneficiary consent for data sharing must be obtained on a specific, one-to-one basis, with clear and easily understood disclosures.
- The key to obtain consent is transparency CMS mandates that beneficiaries understand
- Where their personal data is being shared.
- The specific purpose of the contact they are consenting to, and
- The identity of the entity that will be contacting them.
- CMS Consent is Broader than the FCC’s proposed 1:1 consent: The CMS consent rule has a wider scope than the proposed 1:1 consent in the TCPA because it also applies to manual dialed calls.
- Opt-In Consent is Mandatory: CMS requires an opt-in consent model, meaning the default should be that data is not shared, and the beneficiary must affirmatively choose to allow sharing.
- Separate Legal Entities Require Explicit Consent: TPMOs cannot share beneficiary data with a TPMO that is a different legal entity without the beneficiary’s prior express written consent. This applies even to affiliated agents within the same marketing organization.
While the industry took a collective sigh of relief when the TCPA’s 1:1 rule was vacated, those TPMOs under CMS’s purview must remain diligent. And, new CMS rules should be announced within the next few weeks, so stay tuned.