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[2006 | 08/04] EHNAC Meets New Jersey Regulation Requirements |
New Jersey Mandates Use of Accredited Clearinghouses
EHNAC has been recognized by the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance as a national standards development organization that is qualified to measure the HIPAA and NJ HINT privacy and security competency, assets, practices and procedures of health care clearinghouses that transact business in New Jersey in accordance with N.J.A.C. 11:22-3.8.
Effective December 2, 2006, the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance will require health care payers that use a clearinghouse to handle state based health claims to ensure that the clearinghouse is properly accredited as to HIPAA and NJ HINT privacy, security and other measures of competence. The regulation appears in the June 5, 2006 New Jersey Register at 38 N.J.R. 2501 and at http://www.state.nj.us/dobi/adopt.htm.
The Department recognizes, however, that some clearinghouses that have sought accreditation were not able to complete all of their self-assessments and site visits by December 2, 2006, so as to obtain full clearinghouse electronic privacy and security accreditation. Therefore, the Department is extending the time for payers to comply with the provisions of N.J.A.C. 11:22-3.8 until April 2, 2007 with respect to such clearinghouses. The extension of time for compliance with the rule will only apply to healthcare payers using clearinghouses that have applied for accreditation and that have been granted accreditation candidacy status by the National Standards Development Organization to which they applied for accreditation. BULLETIN NO. 06-26
EHNAC is a nationally recognized not-for-profit organization that offers accreditation of clearinghouses and other entities and has been recognized as meeting the qualification set forth in the adopted regulations.
Furthermore, EHNAC has been properly authenticated and registered with the Office of the United States Attorney General and Federal Trade Commission pursuant to the provisions of the National Cooperation Research and Production Act of 1993, 15 U.S.C. § 4301 et seq. as an entity that is capable and qualified to develop and measure national standards of health care clearinghouse HIPAA privacy and security.
The recently adopted regulations apply to any health benefit payer doing business in New Jersey that uses a clearinghouse in any of the ways described in the above cited rule, whether or not that clearinghouse is located in, or doing business in New Jersey. Furthermore, said clearinghouses must be fully accredited by December 2, 2006, to comply with these requirements.
EHNAC measures the privacy compliance, security compliance and capacity of clearinghouses against an extensive battery of proprietary criteria that meet all HIPAA and New Jersey standards.
To achieve EHNAC accreditation, the clearinghouse must submit to an independent evaluation of the organization's ability to perform at or above the legal and industry-established standards for the transmission of health information. EHNAC's accreditation process requires a rigorous assessment of compliance with current performance criteria verified by a site review and approval by the commission |
