By all accounts and estimates, it is believed that as much as $26
billion may be saved by instituting X.12 EDI standards on an industry
wide basis.
The
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 is
the most comprehensive and sweeping legislation for health care
since Medicare was instituted.
EDI transactions are
governed by HIPAA standards. Health care transactions not in
compliance are relegated to paper.
DHHS is within weeks
of a "final document" for rules governing
implementation. The industry will have two years to act once
it is published.
Many industry and
government analysts expect implementation of HIPAA to exceed Y2K in
cost and scope.
Reduction in
paperwork and administrative overhead will eliminate a significant
portion of the $.20 of every dollar now spent on health care delivery.
an additional $.11 will be saved eliminated fraud and abuse.
