Father Knows Best

My father is a very diligent, precise, organized and persistent individual, which is why he is so well suited to the volunteer work he has undertaken since his retirement several years ago: serving at a local senior center helping other senior citizens file insurance and Medicare claims, and also follow up on disputes and other questions involving those claims. So, when Dad makes an observation about the insurance industry, I pay attention.

Not long after I arrived for a recent visit, Dad asked me, "Do you know anything about HIPAA?" It seems that, not only is HIPAA presenting ongoing challenges for health insurance companies and healthcare providers, it's also creating a new set of headaches for individuals and professionals who are trying to keep track of all the paperwork and communications that can accompany even the most straightforward claim.

Dad didn't care about the origins or goals of the legislation. His gripe was with an evident lack of information standards in the industry. "Why do I have to fill out a form one way for one company, and provide basically the same information but in a different way for another?" he asked me.

I admit I was surprised to learn this kind of problem still exists, given the success of ACORD (which actually does not directly address health insurance standards), as well as the power of the government to impose its own standards and procedures on private enterprise. Of course, Dad's not concerned about industry standards groups. He just wants to get the job done. In the great scheme of things he is a very small cog in the claims administration process. But no doubt there are many other equally frustrated cogs out there, and together they could present a significant challenge to business as usual in the industry.

Katherine Burger is Editorial Director of Bank Systems & Technology and Insurance & Technology, members of UBM TechWeb's InformationWeek Financial Services. She assumed leadership of Bank Systems & Technology in 2003 and of Insurance & Technology in 1991. In addition to ... View Full Bio