PSA Alert: Red Flag Rules Delayed Again
The Federal Trade Commission has once again delayed the enforcement of the "Red Flags" Rule until June 1, 2010. The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3763 which would exempt certain businesses with less than 20 employees from having to comply with the "Red Flags Rule." On October 20 the bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. At this time, this bill has not been passed into law, and pathology practices are still expected to comply with the Red Flags Rule before the current enforcement date.
As your billing service provider, PSA is clearly aware of the Red Flags Rule and our obligation to provide our services in accordance with the Red Flags Rule requirements to develop reasonable policies and procedures designed to detect, prevent and mitigate identity theft. We have performed a risk analysis; developed an Identity Theft Prevention Program; trained our staff; and we will continue to enhance existing HIPAA-related policies and procedures and/or create new policies and procedures where appropriate to address new risks for identity theft specifically related to the Red Flags Rule.
For additional information or templates for compliance please click here to review the July 2009 PSA alert. A recording of the PSA September audio call "Compliance with the FTC Red Flag Rule" is also available on the PSA Extranet for PSA affiliated clients.