ITAA's Year 2000 Outlook October 1, 1999 Volume 4, No. 33 Published by the Information Technology Association of America, Arlington, VA Tinabeth Burton, Editor tburton@itaa.org Read in over 80 countries around the world ITAA's Year 2000 Outlook is published every Friday to help all organizations deal more effectively with the Year 2000 software conversion. To create a subscription to this free publication, please visit ITAA on the web at https://www.itaa.org/transact/2ko utlooksub.htm. To cancel an existing subscription, visit https://www.itaa.org/transact/2kremove.htm. ITAA's Year 2000 Outlook is sponsored in part by CACI International Inc., DMR Consulting Group Inc and Y2Kplus. In this Issue: . International Monetary Fund Moves to Prevent Shortages . Medicare, HCFA Prepare for Y2K Pitfalls . ITAA*2000 Certification Closes Doors . Business to Business . ITAA Y2K Information Center . Sponsor Advertising International Monetary Fund Moves to Prevent Shortages The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has created a special emergency fund to cover any balance of payment problems that could occur as a result of Y2K transition problems. The fund, which goes into effect October 15, 1999, will allow IMF-member nations to access as mush as half of their borrowing limit for a six-month period. The fund expires March 31, 2000. Michel Camdessus, managing director of the IMF, described the fund as an extra-added precaution. "While we have various vehicles that could be of help, [the IMF] concluded that it would be desirable to have a special temporary facility specifically desig ned to deal with this unique event." While there is no reason to believe that there will be widespread Y2K problems or balance of payments problems, "there are uncertainties, and the potential consequence for international trade and growth of possible interruptions to production and shipment s are significant," Camdessus added. "Equally important is the potential for temporary interruptions to international capital flows." The Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of the Group of Ten (G10) welcomed the establishment of the temporary Y2K facility. In a communique issued September 26, 1999 following a meeting in Washington, DC, the announced that they have "reviewed preparations for Y2K and the arrangements being put in place to forestall any national or international liquidity problems" At the meeting, the G10 representatives stressed the importance of public and private sector officials moving forward jointly to produce contingency plans in the financial sector and between the financial sector and other critical sectors, "such as power and telecommunications." In the United States, central bankers are moving to assuage fears that Y2K malfunctions will deny consumer access to money during the transition period and, more specifically, on January 1, 2000. William McDonough, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank, said he expects the cash reserves he and his wife had on hand for the Labor day holiday would be enough to get them through the New Year's weekend. McDonough said, "I had $3.12, and my wife had $30" Take the amount of cash that would make sense for a holiday weekend" Don't have vast amounts of cash on hand," McDonough said at a meeting between top federal and New York state bank regulators, according to published reports. It appears, from published reports, that the central focus of financial regulators has moved from insuring Y2K compliance in financial institutions to preventing runs on banks. The biggest threat posed by Y2K is irrational fear on the part of consumers that may create a bank run or critical run on the money supply. "There is just no reason to bulk up on cash," Ellen Seidman, director of the Office of Thrift Supervision said. She advised consumers to keep ATM receipts, read bank statements, and, during the New Year's weekend, if they see a bank machine with a line, or malfunctioning, to "go to the next machine." Donna Tanoue, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), said that more than 99 percent of federally insured banks have been rated as satisfactory in year 2000 assessments. "As of September 15, there were only 27 [federally insured banks] that had less than satisfactory assessments. Only seven are rated unsatisfactory. Although no one can say there won't be glitches – after all there are glitches now. We're confident that bank and thrift customers and credit union members will be able to conduct business as usual before and after January 1." Medicare, HCFA Prepare for Y2K Pitfalls America's multi-billion dollar healthcare industry generates the most questions about the state of Y2K compliance, according to the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA). "We remain deeply concerned that many providers still do not appear to be doi ng all that they must to prepare for the year 2000," Gary Christoph, chief information officer for HCFA, told a congressional investigating committee. Christoph said HCFA has completed efforts to prevent internal interruptions of Medicare computer system s. Fred Brown, chairman of the Board of trustees of the American Hospital Association, said that hospitals in the United States had spent $8 billion on computer upgrades and will be ready for the New Year. But, concern still exists that thousands of private physicians, nursing homes, and small inner-city and rural hospitals have not addressed the problem or have not conducted system tests to ensure that there will be few to no problems during the transition period. Christope said all Medicare managed care organizations are required to certify that their systems will perform into the new millennium, but reviews of the contingency plans for national chains indicate that while 50 percent are reasonable or in need of mi nor improvements, the other 50 percent need major improvements. Dr. Whitney Addington, president of the American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine said Y2K disruptions could prevent people from getting care they need "with potentially devastating consequences." HCFA has put together a list of key steps care providers can take to become Y2K ready, although, they advise, these suggestions are not intended to replace other actions health care providers are taking. HCFA also advises that, if providers would like to "test with other electronic data interchange partners, such as Medicaid or a managed care organization, providers should call and ask if such testing can be arranged. (The ability of these entities to per form such testing is generally limited, but they may be able to accommodate you.) In addition, try to test as soon as possible; as we approach the year 2000, some entities might decide to reduce or eliminate provider testing in order to concentrate on oth er necessary activities." Finally, they advise that, to the extent possible, "Testing should be conducted in a future dated computer environment. This can be performed either through the use of commercially available software or by changing the internal date of your system. (Such date manipulation should only be performed under the guidance of persons with the proper training.)" The entire text of the HCFA "Y2K Health Care Provider Talking Points" can be found at http://www.hcfa.gov/y2k. ITAA*2000 Certification Closes Doors Friday, October 1st marks the end of application acceptance by the ITAA*2000 Certification program. While companies having already submitted applications will be processed before December 31, 1999, no new applications will be taken. To date nearly 140 organizations have received certification from the program, which examines processes and methods used by companies to perform their Year 2000 software conversions. Certification indicates that an organization has the core capabilities needed to address t he Year 2000 challenge. The directory of ITAA*2000 certified companies is located on the ITAA web site at http://www.itaa.org/year2000/certco.cfm. Business to Business Cognicase Inc., Montreal, Canada, has entered into a partnership agreement with Hewlett-Packard Company. ITAA Y2K Information Center Solution Providers Directory http://www.itaa.org/script/2000vend.cfm ITAA*2000 Certification Program http://www.itaa.org/2000cert.htm Outlook Archive http://www.itaa.org/script/get2klet.cfm Legislative and Litigation Table http://www.itaa.org/year2000/legis.htm Calendar http://www.itaa.org/y2kcal.htm Vendor/User Status Questionnaires http://www.itaa.org/questmain1.htm Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) http://www.itaa.org/year2000/adr.htm Statement of Intention to Use ADR http://www.itaa.org/year2000/soi.htm, Y2K Mediators Seminar http://www.technologymediation.com/Y2K_seminar.htm Copyright ITAA 1999. All rights reserved. The Information Technology Association of America, 1616 N. Fort Myer Drive, Suite 1300