Physicians File Lawsuit Over FTC's 'Red Flag' Rule

The American Medical Association, American Osteopathic Association and the Medical Society of the District of Columbia today filed alawsuit in federal court seeking to prevent the Federal Trade Commission from extending identity theft regulations to physicians.
The complaint, prepared by the Litigation Center of the AMA and State Medical Societies, targets the contentious “red flags rule,” which requires creditors to implement safeguards against identity theft. The medical societies charge that the FTC’s rule exceeds the powers delegated to it by Congress and that its application to physicians is arbitrary, capricious and contrary to the law. Cecil B. Wilson, M.D., president-elect of the American Medical Association, has called red flag rules unjustified, adding, “The extensive bureaucratic burden of complying with the red flags rule outweighs any benefit to the public.” Today’s suit follows two years of communications to the FTC from the AMA and AOA regarding the unintended consequences of the red flags rule. On January 27, the AMA and AOA joined other groups to petition the FTC to exclude physicians from the red flags rule. The FTC responded on March 25 saying it could not accommodate the request.