Red Flags Rule Enforcement Delay Yet Again

By Author: Nancy Rose
Total Articles: 53
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Amidst an AMA lawsuit, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) appears to take a wait-and-see stance.


After a year's worth of extensions of the Red Flags Rule, medical practices were geared up to buckle down and ensure that their plans were in place as the rule was about to go into effect from June 1.


But just a few days prior to the deadline, the FTC announced that it would be delaying enforcement until December 31, this year at the request of several members of Congress, according to a May 28 FTC news release.


Under the red Flags Rule, some businesses and organizations, including many physician's offices, hospitals and other health care providers - are needed to spot and listen to the red flags that can often be the telltale signs of identity theft, according to an article on the FTC Website.


To meet the terms of the Red Flags Rule, covered entities are likely to create a written red flags program to prevent and find out potential identity theft cases.


According to the FTC, the rule applies to businesses that qualify as creditors or ...
... financial institutions, and the FTC's broad definition shows that it applies to many medical practices. Healthcare providers are creditors if they bill consumers after they are done with their services," according to the FTC Web site. Health care providers that take insurance are thought of as creditors if the consumer is ultimately responsible for the medical fees.


But simply accepting credit cards as a form of payment doesn't make you a creditor under the rule.


The FTC press release pointed out that that Congress requested the delay in part to pass legislation that'll resolve any questions as to which entities are covered by the Rule." Congress needs to mend the unintended consequences of the legislation establishing the Red Flags Rule - and to mend this problem quickly," Jon Leibowitz, FTC chairman, said in a release. As an agency, we are charged with enforcing the law and endless extensions delay enforcement."


The Red Flags Rule delay came close on the heels of the AMA's announcement that it had filed a lawsuit asking a federal court to put off the FTC from extending the Red Flags to physicians," as laid down by the president-elect of AMA, Cecil B. Wilson, MD, in a May 28 AMA news release. Wilson noted, The latest extension to the compliance date is a promising sign that the AMA lawsuit has grabbed the attention of the FTC."