Health

Passed in 1996, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), better known as Kassebaum-Kennedy, after the two senators who spearheaded the bill, helps people purchase and maintain health insurance, even when they have serious health conditions. The law established basic requirements that health plans must meet, however, since states can modify and expand these provisions, protections for consumers vary from state to state.

Within 18 months of its enactment, the Secretary of HHS was required to adopt standards from among those already approved by private standards developing organizations for certain electronic health transactions, including claims, enrollment, eligibility, payment, and coordination of benefits. These standards must also address the security of electronic health information systems.

The HIPAA bill supersedes state laws, except in cases where the Secretary determines that state law is necessary for preventing fraud and abuse and to ensure that there is appropriate state regulation of insurance and health plans, and that issues related to the use of controlled substances and or for other purposes are properly addressed.

123 EDI has incorporated all of the necessary EDI HIPAA compliant documents into its solutions and customers in the health industry can take advantage of the company's well-established auditing and strong compliance mapping techniques.

Contact 123 EDI for further information about its solutions for HIPAA providers.