ICD-10 Go Live Date

Go-Live Date for ICD-10 Set for Oct. 1, 2015 On July 31, 2014, HHS issued a final rule setting October 1, 2015 as the deadline to convert to ICD-10 diagnostic and procedure codes. The Oct. 15 compliance date represents the minimum delay imposed by Congress when it ordered HHS to roll back the conversion date previously set for Oct. 1, 2014. According to CMS Administrator, Marilyn Tavenner, ICD-10 codes can help promote care coordination for patients under the care of multiple providers; provide better support for patient care; and improve disease management, quality measurement and analytics. Robert Tenant, Senior Policy Adviser for the Medical Group Management Association, reported that ICD-10 conversion has been very difficult for group practices and their trading partners due to multiple federal reporting requirements; an uncertain payment environment; and requisite software upgrades, workflow modification and staff training. Medical Group Management Association has expressed concern that cash flow may be disrupted following the Oct. 1, 2015 compliance date if Medicare and public health plans are not aggressive in pursuing end-to-end testing and are not fully transparent with regard to payment policies well in advance of the compliance date.  The final rule may be accessed at http://federalregister.gov/a/2014-18347.