Dive Brief:
- The House is considering a new bill which, in addition to a instituting a one-year SGR fix, would delay implementation of ICD-10 until October 1, 2015. HHS had previously moved back ICD-10 implementation from October 1, 2013 to October 1, 2014.
- The bill is set to go to the House floor for a vote this week, according to the Journal of the American Health Information Management Association.
- The bill's ICD-10 provision comes in the wake of a report from the American Medical Association which suggested that implementation costs for the new code set would be far more expensive than previously thought.
Dive Insight:
If Congress passes legislation which includes a year delay in ICD-10 implementation, there will be dancing in the streets. In particular, many medical practices have been petrified by the idea of trying to get the conversion done by October of this year, given the complexity of changes required in the resources called for to get the job done. That being said, in all likelihood the whole cycle of fear and procrastination will simply emerge again next year. Perhaps it's best providers grit their teeth and get it done.