Provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act required HHS to adopt a single set of operating rules for each HIPAA transaction standard to improve its utility and reduce administrative costs. The operating rules — intended to make the application of the HIPAA standards more consistent and efficient — took effect Jan. 1 for HIPAA-covered entities.
According to the release, HHS is delaying enforcement action to reduce the potential disruption to the healthcare industry. “Industry feedback suggests that HIPAA-covered entities have not reached a threshold whereby a majority of covered entities would be able to be in compliance with operating rules by Jan. 1, 2013,” according to CMS’ statement.
However, if an entity is the subject of a complaint, it will be required to provide evidence of its compliance or a good faith effort to become compliant before April.
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