The Accredited Standards Committee X12 (ASC X12) recently announced that it will not propose Version 6020 for consideration as the next version of the standard under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). In its press release, ASC X12 stated that after listening to and reviewing testimony to the National Committee on Vital Health Statistics (NCVHS), holding discussions with healthcare industry stakeholders and CMS representatives, and acknowledging the many health IT initiatives underway, it decided not to recommend its Version 6020 TR3s to the Designated Standards Maintenance Organizations (DSMO). ASC X12's decision removes the option that this version would be considered for adoption under HIPAA.
In announcing its decision, ASC X12 noted that the healthcare industry is better served by focusing on upgrading to Version 5010 standards this year. Lessons learned from this implementation will generate better information that can be applied to changes to the next version of the standard. Furthermore, industry participation in that process will be more robust. CMS supports ASC X12's caution that even though the 6020 version will not be recommended for adoption, stakeholder input is still imperative. The 6020 version will still serve as the basis for the next version, but industry will have much-needed time to determine changes that are needed. CMS will continue to support the work of ASC X12, the DSMO, other standards development organizations, operating rule entities, and industry stakeholders to improve the process for developing, adopting and maintaining standards and implementation specifications. Please visit the ASC X12 website<http://www.x12.org/> for more information on this decision. Keep Up to Date on Version 5010 and ICD-10. Visit the ICD-10 website<http://www.cms.gov/ICD10/> for the latest news and resources to help you prepare, and to download and share the implementation widget<http://www.browserspring.com/widgets/cms2/iframe.html> today! ________________________________ It’s Not too Late to Give and Get the Flu Vaccine. Take advantage of each office visit and protect your patients against the seasonal flu. Medicare will continue to pay for the seasonal flu vaccine and its administration for all Medicare beneficiaries through the entire flu season. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also recommends that patients, healthcare workers and caregivers be vaccinated against the seasonal flu. Protect your patients. Protect your family. Protect yourself. Get the Flu Vaccine—Not the Flu. Remember – The flu vaccine plus its administration are covered Part B benefits. CMS has posted the 2011-2012 seasonal flu vaccine payment limits at http://www.CMS.gov/McrPartBDrugAvgSalesPrice/10_VaccinesPricing.asp. Note that the flu vaccine is NOT a Part D-covered drug. For more information on coverage and billing of the flu vaccine and its administration, as well as related educational provider resources, visit http://www.CMS.gov/MLNProducts/35_PreventiveServices.asp and http://www.cms.gov/immunizations. ________________________________ Note: If you have problems accessing any hyperlink in this message, please copy and paste the URL into your Internet browser. If you know someone who would like to subscribe to a Medicare Fee-For-Service (FFS) provider listserv, go to (http://www.cms.gov/prospmedicarefeesvcpmtgen/downloads/Provider_Listservs.pdf). If you would like to unsubscribe from a specific provider listserv, please go to (https://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa.exe?INDEX) to unsubscribe or to leave the appropriate listserv. Please DO NOT respond to this email. This email is a service of CMS and routed through an electronic mail server to communicate Medicare policy and operational changes and/or updates. Responses to this email are not routed to CMS personnel. Inquiries may be sent by going to (http://www.cms.gov/ContactCMS). Thank you.
