Medical Industry News

“CMS is dedicated to the transition to ICD-10,” said Buenning at the ICD-10 CM/PCS and CAC Summit sponsored by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). “Given that ICD-10 is essential to greater interoperability, information sharing and ultimately providing better patient care and lowering healthcare costs, we are continuing to move forward with our ICD-10 implementation efforts in full anticipation of the October 1, 2014 compliance date.”

National Provider Call: Preparing Physicians for ICD-10 Implementation - Register Now

 Thursday, October 25; 1:30-3pm ET

New health care law provisions cut red tape, save up to $4.6 billion

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen G. Sebelius has announced that HHS will initiate a process to postpone the date by which certain healthcare entities have to comply with ICD-10.

The final rule adopting ICD-10 as a standard was published in January 2009 and set a compliance date of October 1, 2013–a delay of two years from the compliance date initially specified in the 2008 proposed rule. HHS will announce a new compliance date moving forward.

MGMA protests 5010 related payment delays, demands government action

The Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) sent the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) a letter complaining that physician practices are having trouble getting paid because of the transition to the HIPAA 5010 electronic transaction set, which went into effect on Jan. 1. MGMA demanded that CMS take action to prevent further disruptions to physicians' cash flow.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Office of E-Health Standards and Services Announces 90-Day Period of Enforcement Discretion for Compliance with New HIPAA Transaction Standards

Today the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Office of E-Health Standards and Services (OESS) announced that it would not initiate enforcement action until March 31, 2012, with respect to any HIPAA covered entity that is not in compliance with the ASC X12 Version 5010 (Version 5010), NCPDP Telecom D.0 (NCPDP D.0) and NCPDP Medicaid Subrogation 3.0 (NCPDP 3.0) standards. Notwithstanding OESS’ discretionary application of its enforcement authority, the compliance date for use of these new standards remains January 1, 2012 (small health plans have until January 1, 2013 to comply with NCPDP 3.0).

Written by Beth Walsh   

Implementing the new ICD-10 codes will cost the typical small medical practice (three doctors and two administrative staffers) $83,200; the typical medium-size practice (10 providers, six staffers, one full-time coder) $285,195; and the typical large practice (100 providers, 54 medical records staffers, 10-full-time coders) almost $2.73 million, according to a new study conducted by Reisterstown, Md.-based Nachimson Advisors, a healthcare information technology consultant. The study was funded by 11 medical organizations, including the American Medical Association and the Medical Group Management Association, and it researched the costs associated with replacing the current ICD-9 codes with the new, more detailed ICD-10 system by 2011 as proposed by HHS.