HHS Finalizes Plans for ICD-10 Transition

Abstract

In less than 5 years, physicians and other providers will be required to begin using a new system of code sets to report diagnoses and procedures. Under a final rule published in the Federal Register on Jan. 16, the Health and Human Services department is replacing the International Classification of Disease, 9th Edition, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) code sets now used with a significantly expanded ICD-10 code sets. Providers and health plans will have until Oct. 1, 2013, to implement the new code sets. In addition, HHS also issued a final rule adopting new standards for certain electronic health care transactions. The rule requires health care providers to come into compliance with the updated X12 standard, Version 5010, which includes updated standards for claims, remittance advice, eligibility inquiries, referral authorization, and other administrative transactions. Use of the updated standard is necessary to use the ICD-10 code sets, according to HHS. Providers and health plans must be in compliance with the updated transaction standard by Jan. 1, 2012. At press time, the Obama administration was in the process of reviewing and approving all new and pending regulations written under the previous administration, including the ICD-10 rules. The move to the new code sets was necessary, according to HHS, to replace the outdated ICD-9 code sets. The ICD-9-CM contains about 17,000 codes, compared with 155,000 codes in the ICD-10 code sets. The final rule gives health care providers and plans almost 2 extra years to implement the Version 5010 transaction standard and a full 2 years to switch to ICD-10, compared with the timeline originally proposed last year. HHS officials said they decided to allow extra time for implementation in response to concerns that a short implementation phase would result in high implementation costs and inadequate time for training and testing. Physician groups praised HHS for providing additional time for implementation but said that other issues persist. Officials at the American College of Physicians said they believe that the benefits of switching to the ICD-10 code sets in the ambulatory setting do not outweigh the collective costs, said Brett Baker, director of regulatory affairs. The costs and administrative burdens related to adopting ICD-10 could slow adoption of health information technology and make it more difficult for physicians to engage in quality improvement efforts, according to ACP. ACP is urging HHS to consider delaying implementation of ICD-10 in the outpatient setting until a certain percentage of physicians adopt interoperable electronic health record systems. The Medical Group Management Association also expressed concern that physician practices will struggle to implement the new code sets. The association is calling on the federal government to develop some type of implementation assistance program to help physicians, especially those in small practices and rural communities. If the value to the health system is as significant as HHS estimates, government officials should be prepared to invest those savings early on to ensure implementation runs smoothly, said Robert Tennant, senior policy adviser at MGMA. HHS also should extend its outreach to the vendor community, Mr. Tennant said, since its members will be providing updates to the practice management software. HHS also needs to work with private health plans to ensure there is no disruption in payments. For their part, Mr. Tennant advised physician practices to get started by becoming familiar with the requirements and the compliance dates. Next, reach out to vendors of practice management software and find out their plans for updating the software. With that information in hand, practices can formulate a budget for implementation that includes training and testing, he said. Mary Ellen Schneider is with the New York bureau of Elsevier Global Medical News.