With the House of Representatives passing the Red Flags Clarification Act of 2010 on Dec. 7, following the Senate's passage of this same act on Nov. 30, final passage of the bill which would exempt healthcare providers from the requirements of the Red Flags Rule only requires President Obama's signature, according to a news release from the ASC Association.
Although healthcare providers including ASCs were not mentioned in the original Red Flags Rule, the Federal Trade Commission said providers could be viewed as "creditors" and thus subject to the rule. As a result, "ASCs would be required to develop and implement a written identity theft program to provide for the identification, detection and response to patterns, practices or specific suspicious activities known as 'red flags,'" according to the release.
The Red Flags Clarification Act of 2010 narrows the definition of a creditor to exclude providers.
"Since ASCs do not function as creditors, there is no need for their inclusion in the Red Flags Rule," says ASC Association Executive Director William Prentice, in the news release. "The inclusion of ASCs and other healthcare providers, wrongly interpreted as creditors in the Red Flags Rule, would have been an unnecessary burden. I congratulate Congress for its work to amend this situation."
Learn more about the ASC Association.
Read more from the ASC Association:
- ASC Association Supports Amendment of Red Flags Guidelines to Exclude Healthcare Providers
- ASC Quality Collaboration Issues Free Single-Use Device Reprocessing Toolkit
- ASC Association Announces Support for "Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act"