AHIP calls for ICD-10 extension
Healthcare IT News
By Caroline Broder, Senior Editor
http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=5002 05/30/06
(WASHINGTON) A trade organization representing healthcare insurance plans on Tuesday called for a delay in proposed updates to a medical coding system, saying the industry needs a three-year transition period to test the new codes and avoid an unnecessary increase in administrative costs.
America’s Health Insurance Plans said the industry needs until at least 2012 to transition to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10 code sets for medical diagnoses and procedures. A bill before Congress (H.R. 4157) calls for the industry to transition to ICD-10 code sets by 2009.
Proponents of the move, such as the American Health Information Management Association, say that a move to ICD-10 by that date will help reduce fraud, ensure more accurate coding and improve transparency in the healthcare system. The legislation, sponsored by Reps. Nancy Johnson (R-Conn.) and Nathan Deal (R-Ga.), recently passed the House Ways and Means health subcommittee.
“Before this implementation period can begin, the nation first must adopt the new version of the HIPAA electronic transaction standards (ANSI X12 v.5010), which will require at least two years. The 5010 transition is an essential first step in achieving the goals of any legislation which seeks to transform health information technology,” AHIP said in a press release issued Tuesday.
AHIP President and CEO Karen Ignagni told reporters that the organization is working with lawmakers to make it clear that while the group supports a transition to ICD-10, it wants more time to update the codes. A report from IBM found that organizations need time to allocate funds for such a transition and that the costs of such an update to payers could exceed an estimated $432 million to $913 million.
“Additionally, taking the time to resolve implementation issues necessary to make the ICD-10 transition work will not impede any of the efforts currently under way to improve quality and transparency in the health care system, since these activities work off the current code sets,” according to AHIP.
