Asked why he wanted to climb Mount Everest, British mountaineer George Mallory famously replied, "Because it's there."
That seems to be the attitude of the Accredited Standards Committee X12. Unbeknownst to most healthcare providers, ASC created a 6020 transaction standard for "technical reports" while most hospitals and physician practices were still struggling to implement the ASC X12 5010 transaction set for exchanging claims and other administrative data.
Thankfully for providers, however, ASC has decided to hold off on presenting the 6020 TR3s to the Designated Standards Maintenance Organizations (DSMO) for consideration of adoption under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the committee announced on Tuesday.
Cathy Sheppard, Chair of ASC X12, said in the announcement, "Although the 6020 TR3s include revisions that satisfy a significant number of the business needs and requests brought forward by industry participants, ASC X12 recognizes that the industry is not ready to begin another implementation cycle at this time. ASC X12 will continue to solicit feedback on the 5010 and 6020 versions as it begins work on the next development cycle, and we look forward to accommodating additional business needs with the next published versions of our work products."
While hospitals are encountering some 5010 issues, physicians are having a very difficult time with the transition, according to the Medical Group Management Association. Citing widespread delays in claims payments, MGMA recently asked the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) not to enforce its 5010 mandate until June 30. Previously, CMS had pledged not to enforce the regulation until the end of March, because of providers' lack of preparedness for the transition.
Chartered by the American National Standards Institute, ASC X12 develops and maintains EDI standards and XML schemas used in business processes around the world. ASC X12 members include technologists and business process experts from health care, insurance, transportation, finance, government, supply chain and other industries.
To learn more:
- read the announcement