Many organizations seek HIPAA delay

Many organizations seek HIPAA delay

Although the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has urged health care organizations to move expeditiously to comply with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) rules on electronic transactions and code sets and not seek a delay, more than 13,000 organizations already have asked for an additional year to come into compliance.

The Administrative Simplification Act signed by President Bush last December moves compliance deadlines from October 2002 to October 2003 for most covered entities. To qualify for that delay, organizations have to file by Oct. 15, 2002, explaining how they will achieve compliance.

CMS has posted a model compliance plan at http://cms.hhs.gov/hipaa/hipaa2/ASCAForm.asp and encourages electronic filing of compliance documents.