RED
FLAGS RULE DEADLINE EXTENDED TO
JUNE 1, 2010
Click here for Red Flag Rule Guidelines
FTC Delays Red
Flag Rule Enforcement AGAIN All of your hard work on
protecting your profession from the requirements of the FTC’s
Red Flags Rule is paying off. The ADA succeeded in getting Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, to sign on to a letter to FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz, urging him to enact another enforcement delay. On another front, Senate leaders have told us that next week they will bring the House version of legislation exempting small businesses from the Red Flags Rule to the floor under “unanimous consent.” In other words, the bill is likely to pass unopposed. Given that the FTC has announced that it supports the legislation, we expect the president will sign it immediately, thereby eliminating the threat of a new regulatory burden from most dental practices. We are convinced that neither the FTC nor lawmakers would have responded to this looming problem without a push from the tens of thousands of dentists who contacted their representatives in Congress. Editor’s Note: The Red Flag Rule guidelines, though potentially not legally applicable to dentists specifically, are still recommended as best business practices to protect the identities of your patients. |
| Dear Colleagues, The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued another 90-day delay in the enforcement of its Red Flags Rule, which would have gone into effect Aug. 1. The FTC announced the delay, until Nov. 1, 2009, on its Web site today. With our encouragement, a number of legislators in Congress have been asking the FTC for this further extension. We are particularly grateful to Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) for his leadership on this issue. The rule would require financial institutions and creditors to develop written plans to prevent and detect identity theft. The FTC originally deemed dentists and physicians as creditors who are subject to the rule when they don't receive payment in full from their patients at the time of treatment. The ADA believes that characterizing dentists as "creditors" in this context is incorrect. Legislation introduced by Rep. John Adler (D-N.J.), H.R. 2345, would permanently exempt small health care providers from the requirements of the Red Flags Rule. This latest 90-day extension of the enforcement moratorium gives us that much more time to build support in Congress for the bill, which already has 32 co-sponsors. Much of our success in this matter can be attributed
to you for contacting your lawmakers during the Washington Leadership
Conference last May and subsequently to explain your concerns about
the rule. Thank you for your timely efforts.
John S. Findley, D.D.S. |
RED FLAGS RULE/IDENTITY THEFT PREVENTION PROGRAM: A compliance guide for this program is now available. The Federal Trade Commission delayed implementation of this rule to November 1, 2009 to allow certain industries more time to meet with the FTC and to determine how the new rule applies to these industries. Following its meeting with the FTC, the ADA prepared a Guide for Compliance with the New “Red Flags” Rule and a sample policy and procedures document for identity theft detection and response. We have made those documents available on cdacompass.com. A dental office must adopt and implement written policies and procedures designed to: (1) identify red flags relevant to the practice; (2) explain how red flags will be detected; (3) describe procedures to respond to any detected red flags; and (4) establish procedures to administer the program, including training and periodic review and evaluation of the program. This is a direct link to the guide: http://www.cdacompass.com/Home-Inner/Article.aspx?topic=Identity_Theft. You must be a CDA member and a registered user on CDA Compass to access the guide and sample policy. The materials also may be emailed to members by sending a request to compass@cda.org. |
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