[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 18 (Wednesday, January 28, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 4268]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-2041]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Office of the Secretary


National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics: Meetings

    Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the Department of 
Health and Human Services announces the following advisory committee 
meeting.

    Name: National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS), 
Subcommittee on Health Data Needs, Standards, and Security.
    Times and Dates: 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., February 9, 1998. 9:00 
a.m.-5:00 p.m., February 10, 1998.
    Place: Room 303A, Hubert H. Humphrey Building, 200 Independence 
Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20201.
    Status: Open.
    Purpose: Under the Administrative Simplification provisions of 
Public Law 104-191, the Health Insurance Portability and 
Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services is required to adopt standards for specified 
transactions to enable health information to be exchanged 
electronically. The law requires that, within 24 months of adoption, 
all health plans, health care clearinghouses, and health care 
providers who choose to conduct these transactions electronically 
must comply with these standards. The law also requires the 
Secretary to adopt a number of supporting standards including 
standards for code sets and classifications systems. The Secretary 
is required to consult with the National Committee on Vital and 
Health Statistics (NCVHS) in complying with these provisions. The 
NCVHS is the Department's federal advisory committee on health data, 
privacy and health information policy.
    The NCVHS already has provided recommendations to HHS relating 
to most of the transaction and supporting standards, and proposed 
regulations adopting those standards are being prepared by HHS for 
public review and comment in the Federal Register. HIPAA allowed an 
additional twelve months for adoption of the standard for claims 
attachments. To assist in the development of the NCVHS 
recommendations to HHS relating to the claims attachment standards, 
the NCVHS Subcommittee on Health Data Needs, Standards, and Security 
has scheduled a public meeting on February 9-10, 1998. At the 
meeting, the Subcommittee will obtain the perspectives, concerns and 
recommendations of interested and affected parties relating to this 
standard. In addition, the Subcommittee will review and discuss its 
overall work plan for the year, including medical classification 
issues and activities relating to population based-data.
    Notice: In the interest of security, the Department has 
instituted stringent procedures for entrance to the Hubert H. 
Humphrey building by non-government employees. Thus, persons without 
a government identification card may need to have the guard call for 
an escort to the meeting.
    Contact Person for More Information: Substantive program 
information as well as summaries of the meeting and a roster of 
committee members may be obtained from Bill Braithwaite, lead 
Subcommittee staff, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning 
and Evaluation, DHHS, Room 440-D, Humphrey Building, 200 
Independence Avenue S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201, telephone (202) 
260-0546, or Marjorie S. Greenberg, Executive Secretary, NCVHS, 
NCHS, CDC, Room 1100, Presidential Building, 6525 Belcrest Road, 
Hyattsville, Maryland 20782, telephone (301) 436-7050. Information 
also is available on the NCVHS home page of the HHS website: <a href="http://
aspe.os.dhhs.gov/ncvhs/">http://
aspe.os.dhhs.gov/ncvhs/</a>, where the agenda for the meeting will be 
posted when available.

    Dated: January 21, 1998.
James Scanlon,
Director, Division of Data Policy, Office of the Assistant Secretary 
for Planning and Evaluation.
[FR Doc. 98-2041 Filed 1-27-98; 8:45 am]
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