Development of a Coordination of Benefits Agreement (COBA) Auxiliary File and Modification of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) 837 Coordination of Benefits (COB) Flat File and National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP) File
Through this change request, CMS will require the Common Working File system maintainer to develop an auxiliary file on the Health Insurance Master Record that displays each COBA trading partner’s claims selection options. The new auxiliary file will allow only Medicare fee-for-service contractors to view each COBA trading partner’s claims selection options, regardless of whether the trading partner is in test or production crossover mode with the Coordination of Benefits Contractor (COBC). Physicians, suppliers, and providers, and those who bill for them, shall not be able to view or access the new auxiliary file. This presents no impact to these entities, since they do not have access to such information through the existing claims crossover process.
Issued by: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
Issue Date: December 17, 2004
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