The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has engaged in a joint stipulation with the American Medical Association (AMA), American Osteopathic Association, and the Medical Society for the District of Columbia to delay enforcement of its Red Flags Rule with regard to physician members of the medical associations and also for state medical associations. This delay will be for 90 days after a decision is handed down from the case American Bar Association vs. FTC. That case is currently under consideration of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The FTC and AMA's case will also be on hold until that decision. The joint stipulation was filed in the U.S. District Court, District of Columbia last Friday.

DOTmed has previously reported on the lawsuit against the FTC, in which the plaintiff associations argue that physicians who do not require immediate payment upon provision of care do not fit the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACTA) definition of "creditor," as they are not in the business of providing credit to customers. The plaintiffs say they should not be subject to the enforcement of the Red Flags Rule. The FTC has previously announced that it would delay enforcement of the Rule until the end of the year.

In the American Bar Association (ABA) case, Docket #10-5057 in the Court of Appeals, the court will decide if the lower district court was correct in its holding that the FTC exceeded its statutory authority in applying the Red Flags Rule to attorneys. The FTC had appealed that ruling. The briefs in the appellate case should be completely filed by all parties by late September. Oral argument may be a month after the filing of the briefs. The delay in enforcement on physicians could therefore extend a few months into 2011, depending upon when the Court of Appeals hands down its decision. Similarly to the AMA argument, the ABA also argued that lawyers are not "creditors" under FACTA.

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