The Department of Health and Human Services Semiannual Regulatory Agenda (69 Fed Reg. 72119, December 13, 2004) included several HIPAA items. Some of the items on the Agenda were met with the recently published final and proposed HIPAA regulations. (See article in this newsletter.)

The following items relating to Administrative Simplification are:

• HIPAA Enforcement.  Enforcement of HIPAA's administrative simplification provisions are planned to be addressed in proposed regulations targeted for release in February 2005.
• Standards for Electronic Health Care Claim Attachments.  Electronic attachments to health care claims or encounter transactions would be used to transmit clinical data to help establish medical need. Proposed regulations setting standards for the attachments are targeted for January 2005.
• Standard Unique National Health Plan Identifiers.  April 2005 is the scheduled date for publication of proposed regulations that would implement a standard identifier for health plans that process certain electronic health care transactions.
• Modifications to Electronic Transactions and Code Sets and Revisions to HIPAA Code Sets. Proposed regulations are scheduled to be published in June 2005 to modify HIPAA's electronic transactions and code set standards and to propose any replacements for specific code sets.

Click here to view a copy of the HHS Semiannual Regulatory Agenda, 69 Fed. Reg. 73119 (December 13, 2004).