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AAP work group comments on proposed electronic identification codes

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) was hailed as landmark legislation ending the power of health insurers to limit or deny coverage for pre-existing conditions and empowering consumers to take their health insurance with them when changing employers. But the law contained much more.

Under the rubric of Administrative Simplification, HIPAA contained a series of mandates to reduce health care costs and administrative burdens by establishing uniform standards for electronic transactions. Physicians welcomed the promise of less paper, less time and faster reimbursement. The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) estimates greater use of electronic transactions will save at least 1.5 billion health care dollars over the first five years of implementation.