Eye On Washington

Collector, Mar 2008

ACA sets its agenda for the second session of the 110th congress.

As the political world gears up for the upcoming presidential election, Congress faces a condensed schedule as representatives and senators look to hit the campaign trail for their respective presidential candidates and to secure their own electoral victories.

In response to the subprime lending crisis, which triggered a broader downturn in the housing market and a nationwide credit crunch, Congress will focus on legislation aimed at stimulating the economy to avoid a prolonged economic downturn. This will benefit our industry by putting more money back into the hands of consumers, but it also brings potential pitfalls should Congress accede to populist efforts to take greater control over financial services markets.

The following federal issues are ACA's top government affairs priorities for the second session of the 110th Congress.

Modernizing the FDCPA

At press time, ACA is not actively seeking the introduction of a bill to amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). The Federal Trade Commission is in the process of drafting its report on the outcome of its 2007 debt collection workshop and formulating its recommendations to Congress about any necessary changes to the law. ACA is working with industry groups representing creditors, collection agencies, asset buyers and consumers for solutions to issues raised at the workshop. At the direction of ACAs Legislative Council and Executive Committee, the association's recommendation for amendments to the FDCPA will be further refined and pursued at the appropriate time. A sampling of the recommendations that will likely be in any FDCPA reform legislation include:

* Codify preemption of state debt collection practices laws that address the same or similar subject matter as the FDCPA. However, in seeking preemption, ACA will not support legislation that would undermine the regulatory or law-enforcement authority of state licensing and regulatory officials.

* Permit debt collectors to communicate with consumers using all reasonable means of communication unless the consumer expressly notifies the debt collector that a particular means of communication is not convenient.

* Resolve conflicts presented by the Foti decision.

* Recognize any consumer who intends to file a legal action against a debt collector to provide notice of intent to sue and a reasonable basis for the consumer's belief that a law violation has occurred. This provision is often referred to as a "right to cure" provision and would encourage the consumer and the debt collector to resolve their dispute directly or through a third-party dispute resolution program.

Healthcare Billing and Collection Education Campaign

ACA has created and packaged briefing materials to help members conduct an intensive education campaign of federal and state elected officials. This campaign will focus on the importance of the collection industry and how working ethically and lawfully with hospital clients supports the economic viability of our nation's healthcare system. In addition to creating the educational materials, ACAs government affairs staff will help facilitate meetings with members of Congress and coordinate Washington, D.C., fly-ins for ACA members willing to engage in these vitally important activities.

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

The association plans to continue work with the Department of Health and Human Services on the recommendations developed by ACA for the purchase and sale of medical debt that satisfies HIPAA requirements.

Healthcare Coverage and Affordability

ACA will support legislative solutions to expand the purchasing power of businesses that provide health insurance for their employees, such as proposals authorizing the creation of association health plans, which would allow small businesses to pool risk and increase their mass purchasing power to reduce healthinsurance costs.

Data Security

The association hopes to advance data security breach notification legislation that does not impose unreasonable or unnecessary mandates on the industry, and to the extent possible, embraces the following objectives:

* Preempts similar state laws and creates a national, uniform standard.

* Requires notification only when harm or imminent harm to a consumer is in evidence.

* Establishes different notification standards for a breach of encrypted data, which is unlikely to be usable by identity thieves, versus non-encrypted data.

* Organization assumes no wrong doing so long as it has reasonable procedures in place to protect the sensitive information.

* Provides no private right of action.

ACA will also continue to work with the data security coalition to monitor legislative proposals and develop effective advocacy strategies.

Social Security and Personal Identifiers

ACA will vigorously oppose legislation restricting the possession, access and use of Social Security numbers as personal identifiers by the credit and collection industry.