| Q: |
What is HIPAA? |
| A: |
HIPAA is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, also know as The Kennedy - Kassebaum Act of 1996, Public Law 104 - 191.
HIPAA was designed to:- Guarantee Health Insurance Coverage
- Reduce Fraud and Abuse
- Protect Patient Information
- Establish Standards for Administrative Simplification
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| Q: |
What is Administrative Simplification? |
| A: |
The rules and details that the health care industry are required to follow come from the Administrative Simplification (AS) provision of HIPAA. These provisions are designed to protect the confidentiality and security of health data.
All covered entities are required to implement and follow all HIPAA, title 2 regulations.
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| Q: |
What is the intent of Administrative Simplification? |
| A: |
The intent of Administrative Simplification is:- Improve efficiency by standardizing electronic transmissions
- Protecting the privacy and security of health information
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| Q: |
What is a covered entity? |
| A: |
A covered entity is represented by three basic groups of individuals or corporate entities, to include: - Health Plans (any policy , plan or program that the principle purpose is to provide or pay for health services)
- Health Care Providers (that conduct certain electronic transactions)
- Health Care Clearinghouses (billing services, repricing companies, value added networks and switches)
For the most part, a covered entity is any organization that routinely deals with individually identifiable protected health information. HIPAA regulations and requirements apply to all members of the covered entities workforce who have access to protected health information. |
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| Q: |
What can ECR Learning do to help? |
| A: |
ECR Learning can provide covered entities with an effective, low-cost, online HIPAA Awareness study guide, HIPAA knowledge confirmation test and certification of successful completion.
Our programs, developed by certified HIPAA experts, will assist your organization in achieving and maintaining compliance with both Privacy and Security Regulations. Further, our programs provide the information necessary for an organization to identify their next steps to achieving total HIPAA compliance.
Having this immediate, online access, increases employee productivity by decreasing down time that might otherwise be spent off site at costly seminars. You will also reduce administrative costs by maintaining an electronic record of staff training dates and test scores.
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| Q: |
What are the HIPAA Administrative Simplification Compliance Deadlines? |
| A: |
Date |
Deadline |
| October 15, 2002 |
Deadline to submit a compliance extension form for Electronic Health Care Transactions and Code Sets. |
| October 16, 2002 |
Electronic Health Care Transactions and Code Sets - all covered entities except those who filed for an extension and are not a small health plan. |
| April 14, 2003 |
Privacy - all covered entities except small health plans. |
| April 16, 2003 |
Electronic Health Care Transactions and Code Sets - all covered entities must have started software and systems testing. |
| October 16, 2003 |
Electronic Health Care Transactions and Code Sets - all covered entities who filed for an extension and small health plans. |
| October 16, 2003 |
Medicare will only accept paper claims under limited circumstances. |
| April 14, 2004-2005 |
Privacy - small health plans. |
| July 30, 2004 |
Employer Identifier Standard - all covered entities except small health plans. |
| April 21, 2005 |
Security Standards - all covered entities except small health plans. |
| August 1, 2005 |
Employer Identifier Standard - small health plans. |
| April 21, 2006 |
Security Standards - small health plans. |
| May 23, 2007 |
National Provider Identifier - all covered entities except small health plans |
| May 23, 2008 |
National Provider Identifier - small health plans |
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