Message from Feds to all health-care companies that won't meet the Oct. 16 deadline to have their electronic transactions compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act: Stop sweating. You'll still get paid from Medicare and Medicaid, as long as you're making a good-faith effort to become compliant. That's the word from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which has issued a contingency plan for the "thousands" of health providers it expects won't meet HIPAA's deadline. Among processes covered by HIPAA's regulations are claim-status tracking, remittance, and coverage eligibility; the most significant transaction is claims processing for Medicare and Medicaid patients. CMS had said Medicare and Medicaid wouldn't pay claims sent in electronic formats not compliant with HIPAA standards after Oct. 16. However, as of last week, fewer than 20% of claims being electronically sent to CMS were HIPAA compliant.