Questions, questions, some answers, but more questions as I reflect on the 2010 ICD-10 AHIMA Summit that I attended earlier this week. One of the big questions is are YOU ready for this big change in healthcare and have you started to PREPARE? ICD-10 will affect all aspects in healthcare (payers, providers, vendors, clearinghouses, third party administrators, independent laboratories, employers, and researchers) to name a few. 

The final rule to implement the ICD-10 code set, which was released on January 16, 2009 and them promptly put on hold by the Obama Administration on January 21, 2009 for further review, has been officially released. It has been determined that the effective date will not be extended and the comment period will not be re-opened.

On Wednesday, January 21st, the Obama Administration put the ICD-10 final rule, along with others that are pending, on hold while further review is conducted. Don’t start cheering yet!

One of the first actions of the new Obama administration was to issue an order to undertake a legal and policy review of all regulations issued by the executive that have not yet gone into effect. The review may push back the effective dates of several regulation issued by CMS and HHS, or lead to their repeal. The Bush administration issued a similar directive when it first took office, suspending the effective dates for several final rules issued in the last days of the Clinton administration.

It looks like there finally is an official plan to implement the ICD-10 code set in the United States.

CMS Proposes Adopting ICD-10 Codes as Standard

The International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) and the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Procedure Coding System (ICD-10-PCS) have been proposed to be concurrently adopted as the standard code sets for coding diagnoses and inpatient hospital procedures, respectively.

Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA) (PubLNo 110-275)

The Social Security Act sections related to the Medicare and Medicaid programs, as published in the CCH Medicare and Medicaid Guide, have been updated to reflect the “Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008” (MIPPA) (PubLNo 110-275). The law section now includes revisions of existing law, the addition of new sections enacted by MIPPA, and updated amendment notes and histories.