You should always check with you legal department, but what you are
describing sounds like a clearinghouse function.  A clearinghouse can be a
buisness associate and a trading partner.

Thanks,

Colleen

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Rachel Foerster [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> Sent: Monday, June 24, 2002 11:44 AM
> To:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject:      RE: A Clearinghouse By Any Other Name ...
> 
> My opinion is that you are a business associate of the health plan, which
> has outsourced this function to you to perform on their behalf. Best
> course
> of action is for you to confirm this with your company's legal counsel AND
> the legal counsel of the health plan for which you perform these services.
> 
> Rachel Foerster
> Principal
> Rachel Foerster & Associates, Ltd.
> Professionals in EDI & Electronic Commerce
> 39432 North Avenue
> Beach Park, IL 60099
> Phone: 847-872-8070
> Fax: 847-872-6860
> http://www.rfa-edi.com
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> Sent: Monday, June 24, 2002 9:45 AM
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: A Clearinghouse By Any Other Name ...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Would anyone here have an opinion of "what type of entity",  from a
> 
> HIPAA Transaction Rule perspective, the following operation could be
> 
> categorized?
> 
> 
> 
> I have an operation that receives; on behalf of a HEALTH PLAN, paper
> claims
> 
> from the PLAN's health care PROVIDERS (doctors, hospitals, etc.).
> 
> 
> 
> We then take the paper claims; scan them into an imaging system, key the
> 
> claims into our own claims processing software system (off the scanned
> image
> 
> of the paper claim), adjudicate the claim, cut the paper check and EOB
> 
> and/or ERA and mail.
> 
> 
> 
> The submitting providers; and the payee's on the backend have no knowledge
> 
> of us.  The checks bear the logo/address/signature of our health plan
> 
> clients.
> 
> 
> 
> And the address where the paper claims are mailed have the name of our
> 
> health plan clients; with a PO Box that we set up; and from which we
> collect
> 
> the inbound mail.
> 
> 
> 
> Question: does this make us a "CLEARINGHOUSE"?  [I had, naively perhaps,
> 
> assumed that a "HIPAA defined clearinghouse" was one that reformatted data
> 
> from a non-HIPAA standard format to a HIPAA standard format or vice-versa;
> 
> and I had assumed that the media on both sides of this are electronic -
> but,
> 
> when I look at the definition below; perhaps the rule applies to "paper"
> as
> 
> a 'non-HIPAA standard format' as well.].
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Definition below for convenience - from the WEDI/SNIP Glossary
> 
> 
> 
> Health Care Clearinghouse: Under HIPAA, this is an entity that processes
> or
> 
> facilitates the processing of information received from another entity in
> a
> 
> nonstandard format or containing nonstandard data content into standard
> data
> 
> elements or a standard transaction, or that receives a standard
> transaction
> 
> from another entity and processes or facilitates the processing of that
> 
> information into nonstandard format or nonstandard data content for a
> 
> receiving entity. Also see Part II, 45 CFR 160.103.
> 
> 
> 
> Henry A Perretta
> 
> HAPCO International, LLC
> 
> 6302 Dunman Way
> 
> Alexandria,VA, 22315
> 
> 
> 
> 
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not necessarily represent the views of the WEDI Board of Directors nor WEDI SNIP.  If 
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