HIPAA: ASC X12N 837 Transactions - Delimiter Specification Change
January 15, 2004Following the October 2003 implementation of the ASC X12N 837 Version 4010A1 format, certain transactions were rejected and reported as having invalid delimiters. An internal system problem causing the rejections was identified: files that used a hex value greater than 5A as a delimiter were being interpreted by the system as compressed files. Since ASC X12N transactions cannot be submitted as compressed files, these files were rejected.
The Medi-Cal system has been modified to allow increased flexibility in the use of delimiters. The 837 transactions may now be submitted using any characters as delimiters as long as the selected characters are defined in the appropriate positions in the ISA segment and are used consistently throughout the transaction.
Note: Characters selected as delimiters should not be used as transaction data values or problems with translation will occur.The delimiter specification change described above will be reflected in an update to the ASC X12N 837 Companion Guides.
Special Note: "Technical Specifications" is a new Medi-Cal Update category. When technical information articles important to Computer Media Claims (CMC) submitters are published, they will be identified by the HIPAA Technical Specifications logo. "Technical Specifications" articles will not address paper claim filing issues.