Federal Register: May 31, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 105)
Proposed Rules

Page 38050-38056

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Office of the Secretary

45 CFR Part 162

CMS-0005-P
RIN 0938-AK76

Health Insurance Reform: Modifications to Transactions and Code Set Standards for Electronic Transactions

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, HHS.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: This rule proposes to adopt modifications to certain standards adopted in our regulations entitled "Health Insurance Reform:
Standards for Electronic Transactions" published in the Federal Register on August 17, 2000 (65 FR 50312), which implemented some of the requirements of the Administrative Simplification subtitle of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. The proposed modifications are a result of the Designated Standard Maintenance Organization (DSMO) process to maintain standards adopted by the Secretary and to process requests for adopting new standards or modifying adopted standards.

DATES: We will consider comments if we receive them at the appropriate address, as provided below, no later than 5 p.m. on July 1, 2002.

ADDRESSES: In commenting, please refer to file code CMS-0005-P. Because of staff and resource limitations, we cannot accept comments by
facsimile (FAX) transmission. Mail written comments (one original and three copies) to the following address ONLY:

Please allow sufficient time for mailed comments to be timely received in the event of delivery delays. If you prefer, you may deliver (by hand or courier) your written comments (one original and three copies) to one of the following addresses:

or

Comments mailed to the addresses indicated as appropriate for hand or courier delivery may be delayed and could be considered late.Comments may also be submitted electronically to the following email address: CMS0005@cms.hhs.gov. For email procedures, see the beginning of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.

For information on viewing public comments, see the beginning of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stanley Nachimson, (410) 786-6153.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Public Comments: Normally, we provide a 60-day public comment period for a proposed rule; for this rule, however, there is a 30-day comment period. After publication of the Standards for Electronic Transactions final rule (65 FR 50312), we received an overwhelming response from the affected industry and industry representatives requesting that we modify the standards. The changes we are proposing already were subjected to the public DSMO process and were discussed and approved by the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS) in public sessions. Therefore, we believe it is unnecessary to provide more than a 30-day comment period for this rule.

Inspection of Public Comments: Comments received timely will be available for public inspection as they are received, generally beginning approximately 3 weeks after publication of a document, at the headquarters of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21244, Monday through Friday of each week from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. To schedule an appointment to view public comments, please call (410) 786-9994.

Electronic Comments: We will consider all electronic comments that include the full name, postal address, and affiliation (if applicable) of the sender and are submitted to the electronic address identified in the ADDRESSES section of this preamble. All comments must be incorporated in the e-mail message because we may not be able to access attachments. Electronically submitted comments will be available for public inspection at 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21244.

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