A second draft version of X12N's version 005010 834 Benefit Enrollment
and Maintenance Implementation Guide is now available for public review
and comment as a key step in its X12 Type 3 Technical Report (TR3)
publication process. This is a newer iteration of the Implementation
Guide previously made available for public comment in February, 2005,
and this present Implementation Guide completely replaces that earlier
edition.

The public comment period for the updated Implementation Guide commenced
on 14 April 2006 and will close on Monday, 15 May 2006, at 5:00 pm
Eastern time.

The purpose of this 005010X220 guide is to:
· transfer enrollment information from the sponsor of the insurance
coverage, benefits, or policy to a payer,
· meet the health care industry's specific need for the initial
enrollment and subsequent maintenance of individuals who are enrolled
in insurance products.

This is X12's only unconstrained public comment period. The authors of
this guide will consider all comments during and following the 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. Official authoring work
group responses will be posted to the on-line conference at least 15
days prior to the corresponding 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, 2006, [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 Insurance Subcommittee (X12N) and X12 publication approval
processes.

The draft implementation guide is available for free download at:
http://www.wpc-edi.com/products/publications/x220 . Comments on the
draft can be submitted by anybody, X12 member or not, to the online
"#220 Second Conference" via:
http://www.wpc-edi.com/conferences/tg2/implementationguides .

This Implementation Guide is a newer version, 005010, of the ones of
the same title presently adopted under HIPAA, 004010 and 004010A1.
The present plan is to propose the finalized version of this draft
guide, modified based on any public comments, as a new HIPAA standard.

Participation in the public comment period is open to all who may be
interested; whether or not X12 members. 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@...