The Honorable Donna E. Shalala
Secretary of Health and Human Services
440D Hubert Humphrey Building
200 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC  20201

Dear Secretary Shalala,

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) designated the Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI) as an advisor to the Department of Health and Human Services in the development and implementation of electronic health care standards.  In that capacity, we have served as conveners and facilitators of a multitude of health care industry forums over the past few years in an effort to inform and build consensus among the key stakeholders regarding the content and practical implementation strategies for making HIPAA a reality.

WEDI has recently established an additional industry resource that we refer to as the Strategic National Implementation Process (SNIP).  This initiative was formed to assist in coordinating the ongoing implementation of the HIPAA regulations as they are developed and published as Final Rules.  The WEDI SNIP process is aimed at assessing the industry s readiness for implementation, identifying key issues and information gaps and resolving any residual impediments to the successful implementation of HIPAA.

We were very pleased to see the first of the Final Rules---Transactions and Code Sets---published recently, and are anxiously awaiting the publication of other Final Rules as well as several pending NPRMs.  In particular, it would be especially beneficial to have the following items available by yearend if at all possible---final regulations on Privacy, Security, Provider ID, and Employer ID and the NPRM on Plan ID.  In recent industry forums, we have observed a great sense of urgency among many of the key stakeholders (providers, payers, vendors, consumers, etc) to move forward with the overall HIPAA initiative in a timely and cost-effective manner.  As you might imagine, a great deal of both human and financial resources have been invested to date by both industry and government in preparation for this important and massive undertaking.  We believe that it is vitally important to maintain the current momentum as well as the commitment of the health care industry to support HIPAA implementation.

It is in this spirit that we are writing to urge your strong support of the publication of both the pending NPRMs and Final Rules for the remaining HIPAA regulations in an expeditious manner.  If we had the regulations cited above, we could examine each carefully utilizing our SNIP process, identifying inconsistencies and key issues and develop appropriate recommendations based upon industry input. WEDI recognizes that implementation issues have and will continue to arise that require clarification and resolution.  WEDI stands ready to utilize our SNIP process to address these issues, as well as to offer any assistance or recommendations we can to facilitate the successful implementation of HIPAA in a timely fashion.  We have been maintaining a very productive ongoing dialogue and partnership with Assistant Secretary Kevin Thurm and his staff as part of our advisory role, and welcome your guidance and suggestions as to any additional support that we may provide.  

Sincerely,
 

Lee Barrett
Chairman, WEDI

cc. Mr. Chris Jennings; Deputy Assistant to the President;
      WEDI Board of Directors