Privacy & Information Security Law Blog

As reported in BNA’s Privacy Law Watch, the Federal Trade Commission intends to agree to temporarily exempt health care providers from the FTC’s Identity Theft Red Flags Rule.  The Red Flags Rule implements Sections 114 and 315 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act.  In relevant part, the Rule requires creditors and financial institutions that offer or maintain certain accounts to implement an identity theft prevention program.  The FTC previously has stated that health care providers could be deemed “creditors” under the Rule.  The agreement will grant relief to health care providers until the resolution of litigation pending before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, in which the American Medical Association and other health groups have asked the court to prevent the FTC from applying the rule to physicians.  As we reported in our previous blog post, the FTC has delayed enforcement of the Red Flags Rule until December 31, 2010, to allow Congress to take action to clarify the Rule’s scope.