“Red Flag” Rules on Identity Theft Delayed Until December 31, 2010

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced that it is further delaying enforcement of the "Red Flags" Rule through December 31, 2010.

The delay comes on the heels of an AMA lawsuit and ongoing Congressional consideration of legislation that would exempt several business types, including physicians and dentists.

The Red Flags Rule was developed under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, in which Congress directed the FTC and other agencies to develop regulations requiring "creditors" and "financial institutions" to address the risk of identity theft.

The resulting Red Flags Rule requires all such entities that have "covered accounts" to develop and implement written identity theft prevention programs to help identify, detect, and respond to patterns, practices, or specific activities - known as "red flags" - that could indicate identity theft.  FTC applied broad application of the rules to include health care and other small business providers.

The FTC has created a website specifically about the rule and its implementation. To read more go to the link here.

http://www.ftc.gov/redflagsrule

-----------------------------------------

James A. McNally, CPC

Health Care Consultant Services