AHA testifies at HHS advisory committee hearing on administrative simplification

The AHA yesterday urged the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics to adopt a proposed electronic transaction standard for claims attachments, but with certain conditions to help ensure timely claims processing. Testifying at an NCVHS subcommittee hearing on administrative simplification, George Arges, senior director of AHA’s health data management group, said the proposed attachment standard should require health plans to use the preauthorization standard to identify any unique reporting needs and limit attachment requests per claim, among other caveats. Arges also highlighted the benefits and barriers to full adoption of the existing electronic transaction standards, which would save an estimated $8 billion annually and improve the patient experience. For more, see the AHA’s recent TrendWatch report on administrative simplification. NCVHS advises the Health and Human Services secretary on health information policy.