The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Office of E-Health Standards and Services has announced it will not enforce operating rules adopted for eligibility for a health plan and healthcare claim status transactions under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) until March 31, 2013. However, the compliance date for using the HIPAA operating rules remains January 1.
According to the announcement, enforcement action is being delayed to reduce the potential disruption to the healthcare industry and because industry feedback suggested that a majority of HIPAA-covered entities would not be able to comply with operating rules by January 1.
While enforcement action will not be taken, complaints will be accepted and covered entities that are the subject of a complaint must produce evidence of either compliance or a good faith effort to become compliant with the operating rules before April.
