Y2K II - 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

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From the April 27, 2001 print edition

Cost of patient privacy rules could rival Y2K

Hospitals hoped Bush would grant reprieve Patrick L. Thimangu DBJ Staff Reporter

Dayton hospitals and health care organizations across the nation had hoped the day would never come, but "Y2K II" has finally arrived.

That doomsday label is what hospitals have given the controversial patient privacy rules drawn from the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The Bush administration began implementing the regulations April 14, sooner than many hospitals had hoped.

According to the Ohio Hospital Association, the new regulations -- also known as HIPAA -- will cost the state's hospitals about $2 billion over the next five years.

Part of the regulations require hospitals to abandon paper record-keeping methods and convert to a standardized electronic billing system to protect patient information. Hospitals also will have to hire additional staff and train current employees to handle work created by the rules.

"Forget our concerns and costs in the transition for Y2K. ... Hospital folks are saying all that will look simple in comparison to HIPAA," said Mary Yost, OHA spokeswoman.

Nationwide the American Hospital Association estimates hospitals will dole out about $22 billion by 2003 to comply with the rules. That's more than the institutions spent to upgrade and reprogram computer systems to adopt the 21st century calendar system.

"We are quite concerned. ... This regulation is going to be very costly," said Joe Krella, Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association president

GDAHA represents 18 hospitals in the nine-county Dayton region, all of which oppose HIPAA because of the costs.

The Children's Medical Center of Dayton, for example, estimates it would spend anywhere from $500,000 to $1 million to implement the rules, said David Miller, chief financial officer.

Many medical insurers say the regulations also will slow the billing and claims settling process between hospitals and insurers.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services had planned to adopt the HIPAA rules Feb. 26, but the White House delayed the action while it discussed the issue.

Supporters, including employee and consumer groups, say the regulations will protect patient records from unauthorized probes by pharmaceutical companies or potential employers.

After the Bush administration announced it would implement the rules, many groups, including Georgetown University's Health Privacy Project, applauded the move.

"Without the strong privacy protection, people's most sensitive medical information would remain vulnerable to misuse and abuse," the Washington, D.C.-based think tank said in a statement. "Medical records would continue to be up for grabs as chain drug stores, drug companies and others profit from mining medical records without people's knowledge or permission."

http://dayton.bcentral.com/dayton/stories/2001/04/30/story4.html?t=printable

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), April 30, 2001


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