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Audiologists and speech-language pathologists who file their claims electronically are reminded that as of Oct. 1, 2005, CMS will no longer process electronic Medicare claims that do not comply with HIPAA. Claims that do not meet standards required by HIPAA will be returned to the filer for re-submission. CMS reports that, "the high percentage [of compliance] among all provider types and sizes shows that everyone can become compliant." The HIPAA-compliant claims allow the same software to be used to generate identical claims for all payers using standard formats and coding. The use of all the HIPAA transactions will allow interoperability among payers and providers for health care administration. CMS continues to make available free or low-cost software through Medicare carriers and intermediaries. For further information, contact Ingrida Lusis, director of health care regulatory advocacy, at ilusis@asha.org or 800-498-2071, ext. 4387.
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