Dropping the ball.

Will providers be Y2K-ready on January 1?

NEXT MONTH WILL TELL HOW WELL long term care providers prepared for potential Y2K technology problems, but at press time in early November, many expected a transition that was less than smooth.

At HCFA, the feeling is that if providers aren't ready when the ball drops on December 31, they have no one to blame but themselves. Robert Berenson, director of HCFA's Center for Health Plans and Providers, expressed concern over recent findings from the HHS Office of the Inspector General that many providers either were not ready or, worse yet, had not even begun taking steps toward Y2K preparedness. "This confirms what our outreach efforts are telling us," Berenson says. "Providers have made progress, but many still have work to do."

He advises providers to tap resources available on HCFA's Web site, [less than]www.medicare.gov/y2k[greater than] or call its Y2K hotline, 800-958-4232. Most importantly, he suggests that providers conduct future-date testing with their Medicare contractors.

But HCFA's concerns stem from more than the OIG report. According to one HCFA spokesman, at press time only 4 percent of Medicare billers had taken the agency up on its offer to test their systems.

"We're ready to pay claims, but if we don't get a bill, we won't pay a claim," the spokesman says. "You can submit on paper, but right now we're handling a million paper claims a year. If we see a huge increase in that, it will slow down the payment process. So if that's your back-up plan, be prepared for a longer processing time than the usual 27 days."

Bernie Khoo, vice president of research and information for the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, says few providers have availed themselves of a service on AAHSA's Web site inviting them to send in a list of medical equipment, including makes and model numbers, and get back a report on what is Y2K compliant.

"Hopefully, facilities have contacted their vendors directly," he says. "I can tell you that because no vendor knows for sure whether every component that goes into its product is Y2K compliant, any representations they make will include the disclaimer, as far as we know.'"

Still, Khoo does not believe the situation is as dire as HCFA believes. "We've been educating our members for two years and they're in good shape as far as we know. I don't think there will be a Y2K meltdown."

Laura Fenwick, a spokesman for the American Health Care Association, which has also been a clearinghouse for information on Y2K preparedness, agrees. She cites an AHCA survey of assisted living and nursing facilities, conducted in April, in which 98 percent of respondents said their billing systems would be Y2K compliant by September; and 73 percent said the same for their biomedical equipment.