ICD-10 delay should be one year, says HHS
April 09, 2012 | Tom Sullivan, Government Health IT
WASHINGTON – The loose contingent of health professionals railing against the ICD-10 delay will likely consider this welcome news: There is a document circulating the Web right now – with a stamp at the top suggesting it will be published in the Federal Register on April 17, 2012 – in which HHS proposes that the new compliance date for ICD-10 be October 1, 2014.
“Provider groups have expressed strong concern about their ability to meet the October 1, 2013 compliance date and the serious claims payment issues that might then ensue,” HHS explains in the document. “Some providers’ concerns about being able to meet the ICD-10 compliance date are based, in part, on difficulties they have had meeting HHS’ compliance deadline for 5010 standards (Version 5010) for electronic health care transactions. We believe the change in the compliance date for ICD-10, as proposed in this rule, would give providers and other covered entities more time to prepare and fully test their systems to ensure a smooth and coordinated transition by all industry segments.”
Backing up its argument in favor of delaying ICD-10, HHS cites a CMS survey finding that one quarter of providers do not believe they will be ready by October 1, 2013, and a recent WEDI readiness survey in which nearly 50 percent of the 2,140 providers responding did not know when they would complete their impact assessment. <READ MORE>