Because it’s coming.
ICD-10 has now bypassed the Congressional hurdle, for now at least.
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Congress began its summer break on Monday without addressing ICD-10.
This means that before the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives return on September 8, 2015, there will be no legislative action to delay or stop ICD-10.
Unfortunately, many providers won’t be ready.
Approximately one half of medical practices and 10% of healthcare providers are not sure if they will be ready on time.
Some degree of uncertainty does remain.
ICD-10 is not a sure thing just yet.
In September, the Senate and the House will have a small window to either pass proposed litigation calling for a transition period, to resurrect the Cutting Costly Codes Act, or to add a provision into a different law.
But it’s very likely that your practice will need to transition to ICD-10 on October 1, 2015.
If you are not prepared, the time to act is now. We help our clients with their change to ICD-10 and with the necessary training to ensure a smooth transition.
It is not enough for practices to rely on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) promise that they will not deny erroneous claims for the first year. Critics have been quick to point out that CMS’s truce with the American Medical Association (AMA) was not an act of Congress.
Your practice should be preparing staff and hiring extra coders now in an effort to get ready for ICD-10 because October 1 is just around the corner.
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