Section 508 Compliance

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 requires that members of the public with disabilities have access to, and use of, information and data that is available to individuals without disabilities.

The inquiry and response functions of the HETS UI Internet application have been tested for Section 508 compliancy using JAWS® version 9.0 screen reading software. The online link found in the left-hand navigational panel of each screen allows access to a version of the HETS UI User's Guide that is Section 508 compliant, as well.

On both the Inquiry and Response screens of this application, users can read individual letters by using the shortcuts ("hot keys") supplied by their assistive technology software.

After users have clicked on the "Submit" button of the Inquiry screen, the System may return validation or error messages on the top of the display. Users of assistive technology can also use their software "hot keys" to access descriptions of these errors so they can be corrected before resubmission of the inquiry.

Data Purge

In a continued effort to improve database efficiency, in February 2007, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) purged Medicare Beneficiary data that is older than 27 months from the eligibility database supporting the Medicare HIPAA Eligibility Transaction System (HETS). Here are some examples of data purges that will occur:

• Part A and/or Part B entitlement periods with termination dates older than 27 months.

• Beneficiary records with a date of death greater than 27 months.

• Part B deductible information older than or equal to 3 years.

• Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) records where other insurance coverage primary to Medicare has a termination date greater than 27 months.

• Managed Care Organization (MCO) enrollment records that have a termination date greater than 27 months.

• Home health episode history data where the episode has an end date greater than 27 months.

• Hospice periods where the termination date is greater than 27 months.

• Hospital and Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) billing data where the data used for calculating deductible and days remaining for the benefit period have a date of latest billing activity (DOLBA) greater than 27 months.

• End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) eligibility information with a termination date greater than 27 months.

Since eligibility information is designed to support the payment of claims, and the usual time limit for submitting claims is within 15 to 27 months of the date of service (depending on the month of service), the information source is purged quarterly of all data older than 27 calendar months. Medicare regulations allow an exception to the timely filing requirements in cases of the Medicare program's administrative error. In the rare situation where eligibility information older than 27 months may be needed, Provider Contact Centers (PCCs) are available to assist Providers or their representatives. The PCC representatives have access to the complete history of eligibility data from the source databases.

Effective 04/20/2007, to avoid misunderstandings and variations in responses, requests older than 27 calendar months are rejected. CMS will compare the requested date on the to the calculated date; based on the date the transaction was received by the CMS System minus 27 calendar months, to determine the eligibility window.

Examples of Acceptable Historical Query Date Ranges

Month Query Is Being Performed                  Begin Date Cannot Be Before:

                April 2007                                                   January 2005

                May 2007                                                    February 2005

                June 2007                                                    March 2005

                July 2007                                                    April 2005

Again, this is just one of many steps CMS is taking to improve the Medicare Eligibility transaction. You can share your comments or concerns with CMS by contacting the Help Desk.

Medicare Customer Assistance Re: Eligibility (MCARE) Help Desk: 1-866-440-3805

Upcoming Enhancements

For the HETS UI, there are future enhancements planned based on user feedback. Some of these enhancements include adding additional data elements, as described in the document below. As implementation dates for these enhancements are scheduled, the table in the document will be updated.

See Downloads for a detailed list of requested enhancements, as they are available.

Downloads
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Related Links Inside CMS
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Related Links Outside CMS
Current System Status: www.hetsstatus.com

Page Last Modified: 07/17/2008 8:06:17 AM
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