WOW, I am sorry!!! Yes, yes, you are totally right... the only point I was trying to make is that under HIPAA a billing service is not always just a BA, they can be considered a CE (i.e. clearinghouse). Yes, they are a BA of the CE, i.e. the provider they bill for. And, yes, a CE can be a BA of another CE. I apologize for whipping through my post without more thought or coffee. I am embarrassed! Brenda
I have to disagree. A billing company is a BA of any provider it provides > billing services to, as long as that provider is a covered entity. Whether > or not the billing company themselves is a covered entity does not factor in > to the evaluation of if the billing company is a BA. > > HHS has said several times you can be both a CE and BA. > > If you perform a covered function on behalf of a CE then you are a BA of that > CE. > > If you yourself meet the criteria to be a CE, then you are a CE. > > If all I am is a BA, then all I have to worry about is having a BA agreement > and actually that is not even my concern. It is the CE's who are obligated > under HIPAA to ensure the BAA is in place. As a practical matter if the > clients of my business are predominantly CE's (as would be the case if I > owned a billing company that billed electronically) then as a convenience to > my clients I might want to take the initiative in preparing a BAA for all my > clients to sign. > > If I am a BA and a CE, then I have to comply with all of HIPAA because of my > status as a CE (not because I am a BA). Also note that as a CE, I now have > an obligation to ensure I have BA agreements in place, but that obligation is > only with respect to my BA's. The clients of my billing company are not my > BA's, they are my clients. My BA's are only people who perform covered > functions on my behalf. My clients are not doing anything on behlaf of my > billing company. But I am billing payers on their behalf so I am their BA > but they are not mine. > > Clear as mud? > > -- > Open WebMail Project (http://openwebmail.org) > > > ---------- Original Message ----------- > From: "Brenda K. Burton" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Wed, 05 Feb 2003 14:24:10 +0000 > Subject: Re: Business Associates Agreements > > > Be careful, because not all billing companies are BA! If the > > billing service translates a standard transaction, they they may > > well be considered a clearinghouse, thus, a covered entity. It is > > correct, however, that a BAA is not necessary between a billing > > company and the payer. > > > > No. > > > > > > Billing companies are Business Associates of their health care provider > > > clients because they are performing a covered function on behalf of those > > > client. > > > > > > The insurance companies they bill to and the cilling company are each > > > performing their own discrete step in the paymeny process. Neither is > > > performing any function on behalf of the other. > > > > > > Noel Chang > > > > > > -- > > > Open WebMail Project (http://openwebmail.org) > > > > > > > > > ---------- Original Message ----------- > > > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > To: "WEDI SNIP Privacy Workgroup List" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > Sent: Tue, 04 Feb 2003 12:11:22 -0800 (PST) > > > Subject: Business Associates Agreements > > > > > > > Hi, I'm helping some small Billing companies in my area > > > > become HIPAA compliant and I'm not sure if they need a > > > > Business Associates Agreement with the Insurance > > > > carriers that they submit claims to. Any information > > > > would be greatly appreciated. > > > > > > > > Thank you, > > > > > > > > M.Noren > > > > > > > > --- > > > > The WEDI SNIP listserv to which you are subscribed is not moderated. > > > > The discussions on this listserv therefore represent the views of > > > > the individual participants, and do not necessarily represent the > > > > views of the WEDI Board of Directors nor WEDI SNIP. If you wish to > > > > receive an official opinion, post your question to the WEDI SNIP > > > > Issues Database at http://snip.wedi.org/tracking/. These listservs > > > > should not be used for commercial marketing purposes or discussion > > > > of specific vendor products and services. They also are not > > > > intended to be used as a forum for personal disagreements or > > > > unprofessional communication at any time. > > > > > > > > You are currently subscribed to wedi-privacy as: > > > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe from this list, go to the > > > > Subscribe/Unsubscribe form at http://subscribe.wedi.org or send a > > > > blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] If you > > > > need to unsubscribe but your current email address is not the same > > > > as the address subscribed to the list, please use the > > > > Subscribe/Unsubscribe form at http://subscribe.wedi.org > > > ------- End of Original Message ------- > > > > > > > > > --- > > > The WEDI SNIP listserv to which you are subscribed is not moderated. The > discussions on this listserv therefore represent the views of the individual > participants, and do not necessarily represent the views of the WEDI Board of > Directors nor WEDI SNIP. If you wish to receive an official opinion, post > your question to the WEDI SNIP Issues Database at > http://snip.wedi.org/tracking/. These listservs should not be used for > commercial marketing purposes or discussion of specific vendor products and > services. They also are not intended to be used as a forum for personal > disagreements or unprofessional communication at any time. > > > > > > You are currently subscribed to wedi-privacy as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > To unsubscribe from this list, go to the Subscribe/Unsubscribe form at > http://subscribe.wedi.org or send a blank email to leave-wedi-privacy- > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > If you need to unsubscribe but your current email address is not the same > as the address subscribed to the list, please use the Subscribe/Unsubscribe > form at http://subscribe.wedi.org > ------- End of Original Message ------- > > > --- > The WEDI SNIP listserv to which you are subscribed is not moderated. The discussions >on this listserv therefore represent the views of the individual participants, and do >not necessarily represent the views of the WEDI Board of Directors nor WEDI SNIP. If >you wish to receive an official opinion, post your question to the WEDI SNIP Issues >Database at http://snip.wedi.org/tracking/. These listservs should not be used for >commercial marketing purposes or discussion of specific vendor products and services. > They also are not intended to be used as a forum for personal disagreements or >unprofessional communication at any time. > > You are currently subscribed to wedi-privacy as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To unsubscribe from this list, go to the Subscribe/Unsubscribe form at >http://subscribe.wedi.org or send a blank email to >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > If you need to unsubscribe but your current email address is not the same as the >address subscribed to the list, please use the Subscribe/Unsubscribe form at >http://subscribe.wedi.org --- The WEDI SNIP listserv to which you are subscribed is not moderated. The discussions on this listserv therefore represent the views of the individual participants, and do not necessarily represent the views of the WEDI Board of Directors nor WEDI SNIP. If you wish to receive an official opinion, post your question to the WEDI SNIP Issues Database at http://snip.wedi.org/tracking/. These listservs should not be used for commercial marketing purposes or discussion of specific vendor products and services. They also are not intended to be used as a forum for personal disagreements or unprofessional communication at any time. You are currently subscribed to wedi-privacy as: archive@mail-archive.com To unsubscribe from this list, go to the Subscribe/Unsubscribe form at http://subscribe.wedi.org or send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] If you need to unsubscribe but your current email address is not the same as the address subscribed to the list, please use the Subscribe/Unsubscribe form at http://subscribe.wedi.org
