A blueprint for 21st century health care: requirements for standard, electronic administrative data

Starting this year, health care providers and payers in Minnesota will be required to use a single set of data specifications to electronically exchange information about patients' eligibility for insurance coverage and benefits, submit and pay claims, and exchange and record payment remittance advice. Minnesota is the first state in the nation to require such electronic transactions, which could reduce administrative costs by more than $60 million a year. This article describes the 2007 law that led to this change, the transactions to which it applies, and the penalties for noncompliance.