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During this special week of testing, health care providers and their billing agents or clearinghouses will have an advance opportunity to test their billing systems, identify any problems with Medicare claims submissions and remedy their software and hardware as necessary.

HCFA, the federal agency that runs Medicare, and its contractors, the private insurance companies that process and pay Medicare claims, are ready to pay claims for health care services provided to Medicare beneficiaries starting Jan. 1, 2000. "But it is up to health care providers to make sure they can correctly make claims and submit them to Medicare's systems so they will be paid for providing health care services to Medicare beneficiaries," said HCFA Administrator Nancy-Ann DeParle.

"Even if health care providers get a late start in readying their systems, they shouldn't let that stop them from taking any action at all," said DeParle. "It's important that health care providers make contingency plans to ensure they will be able to run their business after
Jan. 1, 2000."

Testing with Medicare after November 20 will still be encouraged, but National Medicare Testing Week provides a special opportunity to test while there is still time to fix any problems.

Earlier testing by Medicare contractors has revealed that some submitters and providers who thought they were Y2K ready were not. Submitters who sent claims with the dates in an 8-digit format found that simply using an 8-digit format is not the same as being Y2K ready. To allow the submission of year 2000 dates, submitters will need to remediate their office computer codes and, in some cases, deal with computers that are programmed to place a 19 at the beginning of each 4-digit year.

A recent survey of health care providers conducted by the Office of Inspector General found that providers generally reported improvements in the Y2K readiness of their billing systems, medical records systems, and biomedical equipment, and that providers are more likely to report that contingency plans have been completed. However, the surveys confirm the response from HCFA's outreach efforts: providers have made progress in Y2K readiness, but many still have work to do.

HCFA has been conducting a comprehensive outreach effort on the year 2000 challenge throughout 1999, which includes a series of letters to the more than 1.1 million health care providers from HCFA Administrator Nancy-Ann DeParle, more than 100 meetings and informational sessions with organizational partners and health care providers in every state in the country, and advertisements in a number of health trade publications.

To avoid having payment problems in the year 2000, HCFA is urging each submitter to take three steps:

1. Schedule future-date testing with the appropriate Medicare carrier or fiscal intermediary so that the submitter's own system can be assessed. During National Testing Week, contractor resources will be available at every Medicare contractor to test submissions. Testing during this week will afford submitters the opportunity and time to discover and fix any problems that occur.

2. Consult HCFA's Web site (hcfa.hhs.gov/y2k) or call the toll-free Y2K information line (1-800-958-HCFA) for helpful information, telephone numbers of Medicare contractor contacts, and other resources on becoming Y2K ready.

3. Make a contingency plan, or alternative-operating plan, in case of an office or billing system failure.

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