Today, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a press release to announce that it will suspend enforcement of the new “Red Flag Rules” until May 1, 2009, to give “creditors” and financial institutions additional time in which to develop and implement written identity-theft prevention programs. Reed Smith has worked on behalf of the American Health Care Association (AHCA) to question the applicability of the rules to health care providers, and to request a delay in the effective date of the rule. For more on the possible application of the FTC’s Red Flag Rules to health care providers, see our prior post.