FTC Red Flag Laws to Remain Applicable to Physicians
The Federal Trade Commission has rejected the request to exempt physicians and other health care professionals from the FTC Red Flag, identity theft prevention, laws. It seems the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found that the FTC exceeded its authority in enforcing it’s Red Flag laws against attorneys and layers. So I guess the AMA, American Medical Association, thought they would take a stab at trying to get themselves exempt as well. Their first attempt has been rejected.
This does not come as a surprise, the FTC is still trying to appeal the decision brought by the American bar Assn, so it doesn’t makes sense that they would just let the medical professionals off the hook. I understand that these businesses don’t want to implement identity theft programs, like the rules regulate, but it would be for the benefit of their customers.
The Red Flags laws have been delayed several times and it seems that they could be delayed much longer if the lawsuits don’t clear up. It seems the AMA is trying to prevent the FTC from enforcing the regulations until the ABA litigation is resolved. Who knows how long that could take?
I think the Red Flag laws are a good thing and bring some responsibility to creditors. If they are going to lend people money be it a banks, medical, or lawyers they should take the time to unsure they are charging the right person. I think the the Red Flag laws will be most helpful in the medical field due to the large number of medical identity thefts that happen.
Tags: ID theft, ID theft protection, identity theft, medical ID theft, medical identity theft, red flag laws, Red Flag Rules