US House Passes Red Flags Reform—A Victory for Dentistry

The U.S. House of Representatives today passed legislation (S. 3987) exempting certain businesses, including dental practices, from the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Red Flags Rule.

The rule, which stems from the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT) of 2003, was intended to force large financial institutions to implement measures to protect consumers from identity theft. 

An unintended effect of the law extended the rule to include millions of small businesses.

The ADA led a coalition of organizations to get this legislation passed, and thousands of grassroots dentists contacted Capitol Hill lobbying on its behalf. President Obama is expected to sign the bill by the end of the month.

This law could save your practice money and hours of administrative red tape. In fact, the ADA estimates the nationwide savings associated with this exemption to be $72 million for dental offices alone.