CONTACT:
Janet Cabibbo
Amendola Communications for NCPDP
480-664-8412 ext. 15
jcabibbo@ACmarketingPR.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NCPDP ANNOUNCES INDUSTRY GROUP ALIGNMENT IN SUPPORT OF NATIONAL HEALTH
REFORM POLICY TO SIMPLIFY HEALTH CARE CLAIM ADMINISTRATION
Foremost national experts in standards development align to support the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
SCOTTSDALE, AZ  May 24, 2010  The National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP) announced
today its alignment with the Accredited Standards Committee X12 (ASC X12) and Linxus, which collectively
represent hundreds of providers, health plans, pharmacies, and systems developers, to ensure consistent
interpretation and provide guidance on operationalizing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)
requirements for standards, implementation guides and operating rules and unified input into the policies being
developed to support the goals of the legislation.
Continuing to simplify health care administrative and financial functions has significant potential to reduce the cost
of doing business for providers, health plans, and pharmacies in the United States. NCPDP, ASC X12 and Linxus
are uniquely positioned with their existing organizational support structures, knowledge of standards
development, and broad industry participation to be able to support the Administration’s goal of meaningful
savings through administrative simplification.
The participants joined together several months ago to provide technical guidance during the drafting of the
various health care reform bills. The group will continue to provide regulators with technical guidance during
implementation of the administrative simplification reforms passed as part of PPACA. PPACA’s new reform
measures build on and strengthen existing administrative simplification laws previously defined in the Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996.
These organizations support the need for the development and maintenance of standards that meet the needs of
all stakeholders in health care. It is important to build on the strengths of the current infrastructure, processes and
standards to effect a seamless transition. Common operational requirements for stakeholders would provide
consistency of implementation across the country to avoid unnecessary variations that add complexity and cost to
implementation of such standards. For more information contact chair@x12.org,
NCPDP Announces Industry Group Alignment in Support of National Health Reform Policy to Simplify Health Care Claim Administration
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About Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) X12
ASC X12, chartered by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in 1979, develops EDI standards and
documents for national and global markets. With more than 315 X12 EDI standards and increasing X12 XML schemas,
ASC X12 enhances business processes, reduces costs and expands organizational reach. Members include standards
experts from health care, insurance, transportation, finance, government, supply chain and other industries. www.X12.org
About Linxus
Linxus is a not-for-profit 501(c)(6) membership organization consisting of hospitals, physicians, and health plans. Their
mission is to achieve administrative savings for providers and health plans by working collaboratively to identify best
practices and remove barriers to adoption of electronic data interchange (EDI) standards. Linxus members have already
committed thousands of hours of valuable staff time towards these collaborative activities. Through collective leadership
the members are directly reducing administrative waste from the U.S. health care system and transparently showing
others what’s possible from adopting standards. www.linxus.net
About NCPDP
Founded in 1977, NCPDP is a not-for-profit, ANSI-accredited, Standards Development Organization with over 1500 members
representing virtually every sector of the pharmacy services industry. Our diverse membership provides leadership and
healthcare business solutions through education and standards, created using the consensus building process. NCPDP has
been named in federal legislation, including HIPAA and the MMA. NCPDP members have created standards such as the
Telecommunication Standard and Batch Standard, the SCRIPT Standard for e-Prescribing, the Manufacturers Rebate
Standard and more to improve communication within the pharmacy industry. Our data services include the NCPDP Provider
Identification Number, a unique identifier of over 75,000 pharmacies, and HCIdea, “The Prescriber Identity Solution.” For
more information about NCPDP Standards, Data Services, Educational Programs and Work Group meetings, go online at
www.ncpdp.org or call (480) 477-1000.
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NCPDP Announces Industry Group Alignment in Support of National Health Reform Policy to Simplify Health Care Claim Administration
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