Dive Brief:
- The American Hospital Association is encouraging CMS to speed up its ICD-10 testing plans to be sure that it gets started by January 2014.
- To test successfully, CMS will have to test connectivity and the transaction exchange for a claim containing ICD-10 codes, to be sure changes made to accommodate the codes don't cause exchange problems.
- CMS should also test the provider's and payer's ability to correctly handle the ICD-10 content as part of the claims adjudication process, a step allowing hospitals to find and correct errors in their documentation processes.
Dive Insight:
The AHA is right to be concerned about CMS's readiness to handle ICD-10 claims. With less than a year to go before go-live, time is slipping by rapidly, and setting goals now that assure readiness is just common sense. Let's hope CMS and the AHA are on the same page about this; delays in getting ICD-10 mechanics tested and ready to go could be catastrophic.