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A congressional investigation found that the nation’s largest pharmacies have handed over prescription records to law enforcement without a warrant, raising privacy concerns.
Law enforcement agencies have obtained the prescription records of thousands of Americans from the country’s largest pharmacy chains without a warrant, a congressional inquiry found, raising concerns about how the companies handle patient privacy.
Three of the largest pharmacy groups — CVS Health, Kroger and Rite Aid — do not require their staff members to contact a lawyer before releasing information requested by law enforcement, the inquiry found. The other five — Walgreens, Cigna, Optum Rx, Walmart and Amazon — said that they do require a legal review before honoring such requests.
The policies were revealed on Tuesday in a letter to Xavier Becerra, the secretary of health and human services, from Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon and Representatives Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Sara Jacobs of California, all Democrats.
The inquiry began in June, a year after the Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to an abortion and cleared the way for Republican-controlled states to enact near-total bans on the procedure. Reproductive health advocates and some lawmakers have since raised privacy concerns regarding access to birth control and abortion medication.