The Last in Line

Good thing we are all HIPAA compliant, huh! Seriously, though, that .5% number is pretty danged impressive.

"HIPAA Compliance Required McClellan on Thursday also announced that CMS after Oct. 1 no longer will process claims that are not HIPAA-compliant for Medicare reimbursement, according to CQ HealthBeat. In a news release, CMS said that about 0.5% of Medicare fee-for-service providers submitted non-HIPAA-compliant claims as of June 2005. After Oct. 1, such claims will be returned to the filer for resubmission, according to CMS. "We are firmly committed to an interoperable electronic health care system, and the close-to-100% compliance with HIPAA standards for claims shows that the health care industry shares this commitment," McClellan said (CQ HealthBeat [2], 8/4). "