Political Quotes

“I rise to support H.R. 3323, the Administrative Simplification Compliance Act. Mr. Speaker, earlier this year, I introduced legislation, H.R. 1975, that would have greatly assisted health care providers, physicians, health plans, and the states in coming into compliance with the Administrative Simplification provisions that were passed as part of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). My bill recognized the difficulty that health plans, providers, and states face in updating their computer systems by delaying the HIPAA compliance date to the later of October 16, 2004, or two years after the Secretary finalized all of the Administrative Simplification regulations. Unfortunately, however, there was skepticism as to the merit of any extension. While the intention of the Administrative Simplification requirements is meritorious--moving from a slothy paper-based health care transaction system to an efficient electronic-based one--it is clear that health plans and providers will not be able to meet the deadlines set forth in regulations that were late in their release. According to a recent survey conducted by Phoenix Health Systems, 'industry-wide readiness for the October 16, 2002 transactions deadline is questionable--even unlikely.'”