The net neutrality discussion isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Although it’s been more than a month since the Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 to repeal net neutrality rules, the topic remains a hot-button issue.
Even companies like Burger King are contributing to the dialogue. The fast-food joint recently released a three-minute commercial using a Whopper as a metaphor:
How would you explain the repeal of Net Neutrality? We did it with the Whopper. Watch the video below: pic.twitter.com/9EWjtbenv8
— Burger King (@BurgerKing) January 24, 2018
The FCC’s decision affects more than just consumers. In a recent Sheppard Mullin blog post, lawyer Kristi Kung dives deeper into what the repeal could mean for telemedicine services.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
In November, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai argued that the government’s light touch approach to high-speed internet would be beneficial to telehealth.
“However, the 2015 rules already prioritized critical healthcare services,” Kung wrote.
They differentiate between Broadband Internet Access Services (or general internet traffic) and Non-BIAS data services, which are exempt from the rules and ensure faster speeds. FCC Order 15-24 notes that telehealth services “might alternatively be structured as ‘non-BIAS data services,’ which are beyond the reach of the open Internet rules.”
Kung concludes: “Therefore, telehealth services could have secured an exemption under the old rules without implementing paid prioritization across the market.”
However, the past is the past. The FCC took a vote, and now healthcare industry experts are concerned that rural and small practices may not be able to afford high-quality telehealth services. And rural communities tend to be the ones that need telemedicine the most.
“Net neutrality advocates have posed the question, ‘What happens to telehealth if Netflix streaming services is given preference over critical medical applications?'” Kung wrote.
Photo: theasis, Getty Images
