Health Information Management

HIPAA committee requests transactions and code sets enforcement delay

HIPAA Weekly Advisor, June 27, 2003

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The NCVHS at its June meeting requested that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) limit its enforcement of HIPAA's transactions and code sets rule for the first six months after the compliance deadline to allow a transition phase for organizations to come into compliance with the standards.

The committee expressly asked HHS to maintain the compliance deadline of October 16. Changing the deadline would likely exceed the department's authority. But instead, the committee requested the six-month period of flexible, limited enforcement.

In particular, the flexible enforcement would allow payers to continue to use existing electronic claims channels even if they do not comply with HIPAA, while providers come into compliance. NCVHS is charged by HHS with monitoring the health care industry's implementation of HIPAA and making recommendations about whether to change compliance deadlines. HHS has not said whether it will adopt the NCVHS recommendation. A representative of the secretary's office said, however, that the department is receptive to the idea. Under the flexible enforcement plan, CMS would seek to encourage compliance, but could still penalize organizations that rebuffed all efforts to make them comply.



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