Late News: Lawsuit seeks to block docs from 'red flags' rule

Arguing that it places physician practices under the same regulations as banks, credit card companies and mortgage lenders, a lawsuit was filed in federal court in Washington seeking to block the Federal Trade Commission from imposing on doctors its “red flags” rule that deals with preventing, detecting and mitigating identity theft. The lawsuit, filed by the American Medical Association, American Osteopathic Association and Medical Society of the District of Columbia, states that the rule requires “financial institutions” to implement a written identity-theft prevention and detection plan and notes that the FTC had announced that the physicians had until June 1 to comply. “In applying the red flags rule to physicians who do not require payment in full at the time of providing care to patients, the FTC is exceeding its statutory authority and acting arbitrarily and capriciously,” according to the lawsuit.