News
HR-XML Consortium extends HR standard
- By Rich Seeley
- August 7, 2002
The non-profit HR-XML Consortium has updated its data interchange standard
for employee benefits enrollment in HRIS systems to accommodate more insurance
carriers and third-party benefits administrators.
The newly approved Version 2.0 of HR-XML's Benefits Enrollment specification
is designed to make it easier for insurance carriers and other vendors to
migrate from proprietary EDI to open XML systems.
In announcing the new version, the Raleigh, N.C.-based human resources
consortium stated: 'Compared to proprietary or EDI specifications, HR-XML's
enrollment specification is easier to implement and more flexible since it is
both standardized and based on XML.'
Elizabeth O'Neal, director, integration services, Employease Inc., and chair
of HR-XML's Enrollment workgroup, said the new specification 'lowers the
barriers to adoption for many disparate benefit and HR systems.'
The new version of the specification accommodates 'tier-based coverages'
where an employee has options in selecting medical, dental and vision insurance
plans. It allows for setting up flexible spending accounts (FSA),'rate-based
coverages' for life insurance, as well as short- and long-term disability.
Information on registering with HR-XML and downloading the free enrollment
specification is available at http://www.hr-xml.org/forms/schema_register.cfm
About the Author
Rich Seeley is Web Editor for Campus Technology.