CMS to delay enforcing 5010 compliance

Center of Medicare and Medicaid announced that it will delay enforcing HIPAA 5010 transaction sets requiring hospitals, physician practices, health plans and claims clearinghouses to switch to using the ASC X12 Version 5010 standards for the electronic transmission of healthcare claims and other administrative communications until March 31, 2012 instead on Jan 1,2012 as originally planned.

This decision is the outcome of industry feedback revealing that, with only about 45 days remaining before the Jan. 1, 2012 compliance date, testing between some covered entities and their trading partners has not yet reached a threshold whereby a majority of covered entities would be able to be in compliance by January 1.