Home Health & Hospice Week

Consider keeping many of your identify theft precautions in place. On Dec. 18, President Obama signed into law a change to the wording of who is considered a "creditor" in the government's eyes for Red Flags Rule purposes, which should let most home care providers off the hook for related identify theft protection requirements. Background: Previously, the Red Flags Rule defined a creditor as any entity that bills a customer after rendering services. The Federal Trade Commission's website noted earlier this year that creditors included "many doctor's offices, hospitals, and other health care providers." As creditors, providers had to comply with the FTC's Red Flags Rule, which required creditors to develop programs to address identity theft prevention techniques, as well as tools to detect and deal with potential identity theft incidents. New ruling: The "Red Flag Clarification Act of 2010" signed by the president indicates that a true "creditor" meets [...]