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The Government Does it Again
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THE GOVERNMENT DOES IT AGAIN: RED FLAG RULES DELAYED UNTIL NOVEMBER 1, 2009
Once again, only days before enforcement was to begin, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has delayed the enforcement date of the Red Flag Rules. The Red Flag Rules were originally promulgated to require creditors and financial institutions to develop policies to discover identity theft. More recently the FTC has determined that medical practices, law firms, and other small businesses that bill for services rendered, are also subject to these Rules.
Faced with opposition from the medical, legal and business community, the FTC first postponed enforcement in April, just one day before enforcement was to begin. Now, two days before the new enforcement date, August 1, 2009, the FTC has again delayed implementation until November 1, 2009.
Of course, millions of dollars and countless hours have been spent by thousands of medical practices in anticipation of the FTC’s mandate. Rumor has it that the FTC may now be considering less onerous rules for physicians and other professional practices. This could result in the scrapping or modification of existing plans at additional expense to physicians.
Perhaps the government should focus on its own wasteful and unnecessary activities before accusing physicians of performing unnecessary surgery, and ordering high priced drugs when less expensive drugs could be readily substituted.
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