A new Functional Acknowledgement (997) Implementation Guide --
005010X230 -- has recently been developed by X12C/TG4/WG1; which is the
Functional Acknowledgement work group within the Management Transaction
Sets task group of the Communication and Controls Subcommittee of
Accredited Standards Committee X12.

This Functional Acknowledgement Implementation Guide will be available
for download, review, and public comments starting on Friday, 15 April
2005. Public comments will be accepted through 5:00 pm Eastern time on
Monday, 16 May 2005.

The purpose of the 005010X230 Implementation Guide is to provide
standardized data content and structure to users of X12's 997
transaction set. This implementation guide is only intended to enable a
receiver of an X12 application transaction set to report syntactical
errors against the X12 standard, or to acknowledge receipt of an
error-free transaction set. In particular, note that ...
· this 997 Implementation Guide can NOT be used for responding to any
Type 3 Technical Report (TR3) implementation guideline, and
· this 997 Implementation Guide can NOT be used for any application
level validations.

The authors of this guide will consider all comments following the
public comment period. Official work group responses will be posted to
the on-line conference at least 15 days prior to the corresponding
Informational Forum. This is X12's only unconstrained public comment
period. For a complete understanding of changes being suggested and/or
made to the guide, reviewers should monitor the on-line conference
during the public comment period and consider all author responses prior
to the Informational Forum.

An announcement of the corresponding Informational Forum will be made
later. The Informational Forum, held during an X12 Trimester Meeting,
probably the one during the first full week of June, 2005, [see
http://x12.org/x12org/meetings/x12trimt/index.cfm ], is the final X12
opportunity to comment: but only on modifications based on the received
public comments. After that, the guide is finalized for movement
through the Communications and Controls Subcommittee (X12C) and X12
publication approval processes; and perhaps proposal as a new HIPAA
standard.

Starting on 15 April, the draft Implementation Guide will be available
for free download at: http://www.wpc-edi.com/products/publications/X230
Comments on the draft can be submitted starting on 15 April by anybody
via the on-line conference at: http://www.wpc-edi.com/conferences/x12c .

This new Implementation Guide is not a counterpart of any that have been
adopted under HIPAA, and no official discussions regarding any such
adoption have been held. A factor in such discussions, should they be
initiated, will be any comments received. Voluntary use, once this
guide is published as a TR3, is, of course, permissible at any time
based on negotiated agreements between willing trading partners. HIPAA
is a floor, not a ceiling!

Participation in the public comment period is open to all who may be
interested; whether or not an X12 member. Please participate -- this
is the highest leverage opportunity for anybody outside of the authors
to impact this document.

Dave Feinberg
Co-chair, HIPAA Implementation Work Group
Insurance Subcommittee (X12N)
Accredited Standards Committee X12
Rensis Corporation [A Consulting Company]
206-617-1717
DAFeinberg@...