The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) held National HIPAA 5010 Testing Week last week, and those clearinghouses, providers and payers that were unable to participate should take heed.
"Providers still have more than four months to get ready for the January 1, 2012 compliance deadline for 5010," explained CMS press spokesman Joseph Kuchler via e-mail.
Prior to Testing Week, CMS reported that 327 entities had registered officially, and that it expected some 3,500 to participate. No word yet on the final count.
[Related: HIPAA 5010 National Testing Week: WIll enough org's set sail?]
But CMS' Kuchler added that on the June 15 National HIPAA 5010 Testing Day, 349 Medicare FFS trading partners conducted testing to the tune of 974 files submitted, sans significant errors.
All in all, that's a strong start – particularly considering that providers and payers have thus far been bootstrapped by software vendors slow to offer requisite HIPAA 5010 upgrades.
As the deadline draws closer, that may be changing. "We are receiving industry feedback that many vendors are continuing to install Version 5010 into their clients' practice management or other software programs," Kuchler explained.
Software vendor Edifecs, however, countered that providers and payers are still eyeing a step-up-step-down approach – meaning they're looking to circumvent complying straightaway.
"We originally thought our 5010 business would be winding down by now, but that's not the case," explained Alison Schambach, a senior healthcare business consultant at Edifecs. "We're still seeing numerous RFPs for our solutions and 5010 testing support, which means there are a lot of entities out there who have yet to begin."
[See also: Chant for HIPAA 5010 backup plan grows louder.]
Now that National HIPAA 5010 Testing Week has passed, will CMS schedule another?
"Should there be an industry interest in additional National Test Days, CMS could schedule one or more, and Medicare FFS would certainly participate," Kuchler added. "Testing is happening every day – no one should wait for the test week to begin to exchange test files with Medicare Administrative Contractors."
Consequences for failing to comply are well-reported: disrupted cash-flow in the form of rejected claims. Not that it's that simple, even for those folks who do comply.
"There's a very good chance that if healthcare entities do meet the deadline, they will have done so with no trading partner testing," said Schambach. "Based on that scenario, we may be in for a bumpy ride when December 31st rolls around."
Vote in the reader poll on our homepage, please: Will or won't you comply with HIPAA 5010 by the Jan 1, 2012 deadline?