Red Flag Rule delayed until November 1, 2009 by Federal Trade Commission

To assist small businesses and other entities, the Federal Trade Commission staff will redouble its efforts to educate them about compliance with the “Red Flags” Rule and ease compliance by providing additional resources and guidance to clarify whether businesses are covered by the Rule and what they must do to comply. To give creditors and financial institutions more time to review this guidance and develop and implement written Identity Theft Prevention Programs, the FTC will further delay enforcement of the Rule until November 1, 2009.

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Thyroxine Billing Restrictions

Effective for dates of service on or after September 1, 2009, the following restrictions apply when billing for laboratory tests related to the thyroid hormone, thyroxine:

• CPT-4 code 84436 (thyroxine; total) is not reimbursable if code 84439 (thyroxine, free) has previously been reimbursed for the same date of service, recipient and provider.
• CPT-4 code 84479 (thyroid hormone [T3 or T4] uptake or thyroid hormone binding ratio [THBR]) is not reimbursable if code 84439 has previously been reimbursed for the same date of service, recipient and provider.
• Reimbursement for CPT-4 code 84439 will be reduced if either code 84436 or 84479 has previously been reimbursed for the same date of service, recipient and provider.