ARRA, HIPAA, PPACA, EIEIO, Mickey Mouse! Whew! Try to follow those acronyms or figure out which one is telling us what to do. Regardless of challenges to PPACA, each of these alphabet soup laws has set into motion initiatives that will benefit and simplify the business of health care, and we should be prepared to embrace and accept as inevitable in P&C.

First, let's look at Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). P&C, while initially intended to be covered, was left at the altar by HIPAA and not considered "covered entities" as were health plans and some of their trading partners. This gave P&C hall passes on complying with EDI standards, yet we still had the responsibility for privacy and security under a number of other laws. What was an escape from an administrative burden actually has many out in left field unprepared for the upcoming moves towards simplification through electronic commerce.

ARRA, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, on the surface looked like it was for transportation infrastructure funding. However, it also contained funding to drive the health care providers to an electronic-based health record system with exchange capability through Health Information Exchanges (HIE). The HIE connects disparate systems to build a connected care community. This is great for health care, but it has initiated committees to study the access issues a connected system creates.