ACA Section 1104 Mandate for Federal Operating Rules

The Phase I and Phase II CAQH CORE Eligibility & Claim Status Operating Rules streamline the way eligibility/benefits and claim status healthcare administrative information is exchanged electronically. Easier, more reliable access to this information at the point of care can reduce the amount of time providers spend on administration by improving the accuracy of claims submitted, providing enhanced information on patient financial responsibility, and checking the status of a patient claim electronically.

The ACA-mandated CAQH CORE Eligibility & Claim Status Operating Rules address the following:

See CAQH CORE FAQs Part C: CAQH CORE Eligibility & Claim Status Operating Rules for guidance on the technical rule requirements.

The December 2011 HHS Final Rule adopts the use of all the CAQH CORE Operating Rules related to the eligibility and claim status transactions (both Phase I and Phase II) to fulfill the ACA mandate, with the exception of rule requirements pertaining to use of Acknowledgements. Specifically, the Final Rule adopts the following CAQH CORE Operating Rules:

• Rules addressing the – ASC X12N/005010X279 Health Care Eligibility Benefit Inquiry and Response (270/271) (hereafter referenced as ASC X12N v5010 270/271) Transactions:
  • CAQH CORE 152: Companion Guide Rule*
  • CAQH CORE 153 & 270: Connectivity Rules*
  • CAQH CORE 154 & 260: Eligibility & Benefits Data Content Rules
  • CAQH CORE 155: Batch Response Time Rule for Eligibility*
  • CAQH CORE 156: Real time Response Rule for Eligibility*
  • CAQH CORE 157: System Availability Rule*
  • CAQH CORE 258: Normalizing Patient Last Name Rule for Eligibility
  • CAQH CORE 259: AAA Error Code Rule for Eligibility
• Rules addressing the ASC X12N/005010X212 Health Care Claim Status Request and Response (276/277) and associated errata (hereafter referenced as ASC X12N v5010 276/277) Transactions:
  • CAQH CORE 250: 276/277 Claim Status Infrastructure Rule

*The CAQH CORE 250 Rule applies this infrastructure requirement to exchange of the X12 276/277 transactions.

NOTE: Rule requirements pertaining to use of Acknowledgements are not included for adoption in the HHS Final Rule.

No. The HHS Final Rule does not require adoption of the CAQH CORE Operating Rule requirements pertaining to use of Acknowledgements. The Final Rule does note that, “without Acknowledgements, it is difficult for the sender to know whether the intended recipient received the transmission, which often results in the sender repeatedly querying the intended receiver as to the status of the transmission...until such time as the {Health and Human Services} Secretary adopts a standard for Acknowledgments, we support the industry’s ongoing voluntary use of Acknowledgements and encourage even more widespread use.”

By January 1, 2013, HIPAA-covered entities must meet all technical rule requirements outlined in the CAQH CORE Eligibility & Claim Status Operating Rules (both Phase I and Phase II) that apply to their organizations, except implementation of the rule requirements for Acknowledgements. The CMS website provides charts to help organizations determine whether an organization or individual is a HIPAA-covered entity. See the CMS website for more information on the operating rules compliance and enforcement requirements.

Beyond general HIPAA compliance, ACA Section 1104 requires health plans to file a statement with HHS certifying that their data and information systems are in compliance with any applicable standards and associated operating rules for eligibility for a health plan and health claim status. For more information on the ACA-mandated HHS Health Plan Certification, see the CAQH CORE FAQs Part G.

Yes. The ACA-mandated CAQH CORE Eligibility & Claim Status Operating Rules require that all entities support real time processing of both the ASC X12N v5010 270/271 and ASC X12N v5010 276/277 transactions. Real time requirements are addressed in the following ACA-mandated CAQH CORE Eligibility & Claim Status Operating Rules:

• CAQH CORE 153: Connectivity Rule (Phase I)
• CAQH CORE 156: Eligibility and Benefits Real Time Response Time Rule
• CAQH CORE 157: Eligibility and Benefits System Availability Rule
• CAQH CORE 250: Claim Status Rule
• CAQH CORE 270: Connectivity Rule (Phase II)

NOTE: The CAQH CORE Operating Rules do not require entities to support batch processing if they do not currently do so. However, if entities do currently support batch processing, they must also implement and conform to all applicable batch processing requirements outlined in the ACA-mandated CAQH CORE Eligibility & Claim Status Operating Rules. Batch requirements are addressed in the following ACA-mandated CAQH CORE Eligibility & Claim Status Operating Rules:

• CAQH CORE 153: Connectivity Rule (Phase I)
• CAQH CORE 155: Eligibility and Benefits Batch Response Time Rule
• CAQH CORE 157: Eligibility and Benefits System Availability Rule
• CAQH CORE 250: Claim Status Rule
• CAQH CORE 270: Connectivity Rule (Phase II)

The CAQH CORE FAQs Part C: CAQH CORE Eligibility & Claim Status Operating Rules provide guidance on implementing the CAQH CORE requirements related to real time and batch mode processing. See the CMS website for more information on the ACA requirements and the HHS website for more information on which entities are covered entities.

No. Per ACA Section 1104, HIPAA-covered entities must comply with all applicable requirements of the ACA-mandated CAQH CORE Eligibility & Claim Status Operating Rules. However, CMS did not adopt operating rules for e-prescribing; see CMS FAQ #7357 for more information.

No. Per CMS, the ACA-mandated CAQH CORE Eligibility & Claim Status Operating Rules would not apply to DDE transactions; see CMS FAQ #6117 for more information.