ADA president issues statement on passage of House bill

Oct. 22, 2009
Ronald Tankersley addresses the passage of HR 3763, a bill exempting most dental practices and other small businesses from the FTC's Red Flags rule.

Statement by ADA President Ronald Tankersley on passage of HR 3763, a bill exempting most dental practices and other small businesses from the FTC's Red Flags Rule:

"On behalf of the 157,000 members of the American Dental Association, I want to thank the principal sponsors of HR 3763 for the introduction and overwhelming House passage of this legislation. The bill, introduced by Rep. John Adler (D-N.J.), Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) and Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.), will exempt small businesses, including most private-practicing dentists, from the Federal Trade Commission's 'Red Flags Rule.'

"After listening to health-care providers from across the country, lawmakers confirmed that the original Red Flags legislation was not meant to apply to small businesses like the vast majority of dental practices, but rather it was intended to encourage large businesses like banks, credit firms and national retailers to implement best practices to protect customers' from identity theft.

"Over the past year, the ADA worked with numerous health-care organizations and small business groups in urging Congress to quickly fix this problem. We hope that the Senate acts with similar speed to protect dentists and other small businesses from being forced to work under the yoke of an FTC rule that was never intended to apply to them."

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