[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 210 (Tuesday, November 1, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65782-65784]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-23678]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES


National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics; Meeting and 
RFC

AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HHS.

ACTION: Notice of meeting. notice of request for comment (RFC).

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the Department 
of Health and Human Services (HHS) announces the following advisory 
committee meeting and related Request for Comment (RFC). The meeting is 
open to the public. The public is welcome to obtain the link to attend 
this meeting by following the instructions posted on the Committee 
website: https://ncvhs.hhs.gov/

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meetings/standards-subcommittee-hearing/.
    Name: National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS) 
Standards Subcommittee Meeting.

DATES: The meeting will be held Wednesday, January 18, 2023: 10:00 
a.m.-5:30 p.m. EST and Thursday, January 19, 2023: 10:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m. 
EST.
    To submit comments in response to the RFC, please send by close of 
business December 15, 2022, to [email protected], and include on the 
subject line: RFC on X12 and CAQH CORE Proposals.

ADDRESSES: Virtual open meeting.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Substantive program information may be 
obtained from Rebecca Hines, MHS, Executive Secretary, NCVHS, National 
Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention, 3311 Toledo Road, Hyattsville, Maryland 20782, via 
electronic mail to [email protected]; or by telephone (301) 458-4715. 
Summaries of meetings and a roster of Committee members are available 
on the home page of the NCVHS website https://ncvhs.hhs.gov/, where 
further information including an agenda and instructions to access the 
broadcast of the meeting will be posted.
    Should you require reasonable accommodation, please telephone the 
CDC Office of Equal Employment Opportunity at (770) 488-3210 as soon as 
possible.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As outlined in its Charter, the National 
Committee on Vital and Health Statistics assists and advises the 
Secretary of HHS on health data, data standards, statistics, privacy, 
national health information policy, and the Department's strategy to 
best address those issues. This includes the adoption and 
implementation of transaction standards, unique identifiers, and code 
sets adopted under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability 
Act of 1996 (HIPAA),\1\ and operating rules adopted under the Patient 
Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).\2\
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    \1\ Public Law 104-191, 110 Stat. 1936 (Aug 21, 1996), available 
at: https://www.congress.gov/104/plaws/publ191/PLAW-104publ191.pdf.
    \2\ Public Law 111-148, 124 Stat. 119 (Mar 23, 2010), available 
at: https://www.congress.gov/111/plaws/publ148/PLAW-111publ148.pdf.
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    Purpose: The purpose of this hearing is to inform the Committee as 
it develops recommendations to HHS. During the hearing, the Committee 
will receive input from representatives of standards development 
organizations (SDOs), Operating Rule Authoring Entities (ORAEs) and 
industry stakeholders in response to requests received from two 
organizations: X12 \3\ and the Council for Affordable Quality 
Healthcare's (CAQH) Committee on Operating Rules for Information 
Exchange (CORE) Board.\4\ Together, these requests ask NCVHS to 
consider and develop recommendations to HHS regarding proposed 
mandatory updates to four HIPAA-adopted transactions, mandatory updates 
to four adopted operating rules, and six new operating rules described 
below.
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    \3\ Letter from X12 to NCVHS, June 7, 2022: https://ncvhs.hhs.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/X12-Request-for-review-of-8020-transactions-060822-to-NCVHS-508.pdf.
    \4\ Letter from CAQH CORE to NCVHS, May 23, 2022: https://ncvhs.hhs.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CAQH-CORE-Board-Letter-to-NCVHS-re-New-Updated-OR-052322-508.pdf.
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    The agenda for the hearing dedicates one day to the X12 proposed 
standards updates and one day to the proposed updated and new operating 
rules. The agenda on both days will include time for public comment. 
Meeting times and topics are subject to change.
    Request for comment: This Notice also serves as a Request for 
Comment (RFC) to solicit input from industry stakeholders, patients, 
any interested individuals and organizations, or any members of the 
public to the Subcommittee in advance of the January 18-19, 2023, 
hearing. The Committee is seeking input about the value of the proposed 
transactions and operating rules, including costs, benefits, test 
results, and overall impact of updating and adopting (or not adopting) 
these transaction standards and operating rules. The comments will 
inform the Committee's deliberations about the value, benefits, and 
costs of the proposed updates to the standard transactions and 
operating rules. The Committee will compile the responses in advance of 
the January 18-19, 2023, hearing and consider them together with the 
live testimony of subject matter experts provided at the meeting. In 
addition, NCVHS is collaborating with the Workgroup for Electronic Data 
Interchange (WEDI) that is also gathering and providing information as 
described below.
    The RFC includes suggested topics and questions to guide 
commenters. However, comments are welcome on any subject relevant to 
the Committee's inquiry and any aspect of the agenda. The suggested 
topics and questions are available on the Committee's website at: 
https://ncvhs.hhs.gov/January-2023-Standards-Subcommittee-Hearing-Public-Comment-Guidelines. To submit comments in response to the RFC, 
please send by December 15, 2022, to [email protected], and include on 
the subject line: RFC on X12 and CAQH CORE Proposals.

Requests From X12 and CAQH CORE

    On June 7, 2022, X12 submitted a letter to NCVHS to recommend an 
update of adopted transactions: from version 5010 to version 8020 for 
the adopted administrative standard for the health care claims 
(professional, institutional, and dental) and the remittance advice 
transactions.\5\
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    \5\ Letter from X12 to NCVHS, June 7, 2022: https://ncvhs.hhs.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/X12-Request-for-review-of-8020-transactions-060822-to-NCVHS-508.pdf.
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    HIPAA requires the Secretary of HHS to promulgate regulations 
adopting standards, code sets, and identifiers to support the exchange 
of electronic health information between covered entities, including 
standards for retail pharmacy and medical transactions. Standards 
setting organizations or the Designated Standards Maintenance 
Organization (DSMO) bring forward new versions of the adopted standards 
to NCVHS after completion of a consensus-based review and evaluation 
process. Under section 1173(3)(B), the organizations with whom a DSMO 
should consult for input include the National Uniform Billing 
Committee, the National Uniform Claim Committee, the Workgroup for 
Electronic Data Interchange, and the American Dental Association.
    On May 23, 2022, the CAQH CORE submitted a letter to NCVHS to 
consider a package of CAQH CORE Operating Rules for federal adoption as 
follows: \6\
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    \6\ Letter from CAQH CORE to NCVHS dated May 23, 2022: https://ncvhs.hhs.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CAQH-CORE-Board-Letter-to-NCVHS-re-New-Updated-OR-052322-508.pdf.
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Updates to Adopted Operating Rules

     Updated Eligibility & Benefits Data Content Rule;
     Updated Claim Status Infrastructure Rule (updates + 
reference to new Connectivity rule);
     Updated Payment & Remittance Advice Infrastructure Rule 
(reference to new Connectivity rule);
     Updated Eligibility & Benefits Infrastructure Rule 
(updates + reference to new Connectivity rule).

Proposed New Operating Rules

     CAQH CORE Connectivity Rule vC4.0.0--replaces existing 
connectivity requirements in infrastructure components of adopted 
operating rules; adds new requirements to all operating rules;
     New CAQH CORE Eligibility & Benefits (270/271) Single 
Patient Attribution Data Content Rule;

[[Page 65784]]

     New Attachments Prior Authorization Infrastructure Rule;
     New Attachments Prior Authorization Data Content Rule;
     New Attachments Health Care Claims Infrastructure Rule;
     New Attachments Health Care Claims Data Content Rule.
    Section 1104 of ACA amended HIPAA by introducing the requirement to 
adopt operating rules to support the business function of each HIPAA-
adopted standard transaction. HHS has adopted operating rules for the 
eligibility, claim status, electronic remittance advice, and electronic 
funds transfer transactions. HHS has not yet adopted operating rules 
for health care claims, enrollment/disenrollment, premium payments, 
prior authorization for referrals, or health care claim attachments 
transactions.

Additional Opportunity To Provide Comment

    In addition to the January 18-19, 2023, hearing and RFC, the 
Committee is collaborating with the Workgroup for Electronic Data 
Interchange (WEDI) in its role as advisor to the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services (HHS). WEDI is considered an authority on the use of 
health information technology (HIT) to improve health information 
exchange. Its membership includes a cross-section of HIPAA covered 
entities that implement the HIPAA standards and operating rules, as 
well as vendors and other subject matter experts who support those 
implementations. WEDI is supporting NCVHS' efforts to obtain input from 
a diverse group of stakeholders through educational programs, its 
annual conference October 25-27, 2022, and other organized information 
gathering activities. WEDI will compile and analyze this information 
and share the results with NCVHS by early December 2022. Additional 
information regarding the WEDI conference and its upcoming outreach 
efforts is available at: https://www.wedi.org/about-us/ and https://members.wedi.org/event-calendar. The results of WEDI's upcoming 
information-gathering activities will be presented during NCVHS's 
January 18-19, 2023, hearing.

Sharon Arnold,
Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary, Science and Data Policy, Office 
of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation.
[FR Doc. 2022-23678 Filed 10-31-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4150-05-P