Legislation Extended Deadline for Complying with HIPAA Electronic Claiming and Coding Regulations

(Updated Dec 4, 2007; Original Post Jan 2001)

Payers and Providers not in Compliance by October 2002 Needed to Submit a Compliance Plan

On December 27, 2001, the President signed into law H.R. 3323, the Administrative Simplification Compliance Act, or ASCA (Public Law 107-105). The law provided for a one-year extension of the date for complying with the standard transactions and code set requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The final compliance deadline became October 16, 2003.

While a few payers may have had standardized coding and claims processing changes in place to comply with the original October 2002 deadline, most were not yet compliant and took advantage of the extension. To obtain the extension, covered entities needed to submit a compliance plan to the Department of Health and Human Services by October 2002 describing how they will come into compliance with the requirements by October 16, 2003. Covered entities include health care plans as well as providers and clearinghouses that conduct health insurance transactions electronically.

Notably, ASCA also required that, by October 16, 2003, providers submit all claims electronically to Medicare, although there are waivers for certain small providers and if other exceptions are granted by HHS.