CMS Mum On ICD-10 Transition Date Despite Pressures
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
Coalition presses CMS to solidify October 2015 transition date
The CMS finally broke its silence on the ICD-10 delay by posting a simple statement on the CMS website.
The statement reads: “With enactment of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014, CMS is examining the implications of the ICD-10 provision and will provide guidance to providers and stakeholders soon. This provision in the statute reads as follows: ‘The Secretary of Health and Human Services may not, prior to October 1, 2015, adopt ICD-10 code sets as the standard for codes sets under section 1173 (c) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320d-2 (c)) and section 162.1002 of title 45, Code of Federal Regulations.’”
However, the CMS has not adjusted the transition date elsewhere on its website.
Meanwhile, in a letter to CMS Administrator Tavenner, the Coalition for ICD-10 calls for establishing October 1, 2015, as the new ICD-10 implementation date. According to the Coalition, further delay in setting a date would be costly and disruptive to the healthcare industry.
“We urge that this delay not extend past October 2015, and that HHS announce October 1, 2015 as the new implementation date for ICD-10 as soon as possible,” the letter states. “The delay is going to be disruptive and costly for health care delivery innovation, payment reform, public health, and health care spending, and uncertainty on the implementation date only adds to the disruption and cost.”
Citing the enormous investment in time, effort and resources by its members in preparing for the transition to ICD-10, the Coalition stressed its willingness to work with HHS and its various agencies to ensure a smooth transition on October 1, 2015. In particular, the letter expressed the Coalition’s desire to “work with CMS to identify measurable milestones on the path toward implementation to demonstrate that preparatory work is proceeding smoothly toward successful implementation.”
According to their website, The Coalition for ICD-10 is an alliance of hospitals, health plans, professional associations, hospital and physician office coding experts, vendors, and the health information technology (HIT) community united in support of U.S. adoption of the ICD-10 coding standard. It promotes the critical importance of ICD-10 to improving quality measurement, public health surveillance, clinical research, and healthcare payment through research, education, advocacy, and mobilization.
CMS’s largest obstacle to creating a definitive statement about the new ICD-10 deadline is the bureaucratic process for issuing a new compliance date. Since the implementation deadline is based on congressional language passed by the House and Senate and signed into law by President Obama on April 1, CMS must determine how to reconcile the legislative process with its own regulatory process.