Over the last three weeks, bills have been introduced in both the House and Senate to block implementation of the ICD-10 diagnostic and procedure code set. Authors of the bills cite excessive bureaucracy and costs as issues that necessitate a delay in switching to a new coding schematic.
AANEM believes the chances for these bills to kill implementation efforts are unlikely, as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has indicated further delays will not occur, and the October 1, 2014, implementation date will be enforced.
To ensure your office is ready for the transition to the ICD-10 coding system, take a moment to review this
fact sheet from CMS (PDF). Be sure look for educational opportunities at the AANEM
annual meeting, as well as an ICD-10 webinar from AANEM later this year.