U.S. Rep. Gary J. Palmer, R-AL, on June 4, introduced a bill to allow for a two-year grace period for doctors and other healthcare providers in submitting claims for reimbursement, the latest attempt at legislation to deal with the Oct. 1 rollout of ICD-10.
The bill H.R. 2652, called “Protecting Patients and Physicians Against the Coding Act of 2015” has been referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
[Also: ICD-10 bill surfaces, calls for delay, more study of rollout disruptions]
ICD-10 is scheduled to be implemented on Oct. 1, with no transition period for the current billing codes under ICD-9.
The bill proposes to give coding errors a pass for two years, meaning no claims submitted to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid would be denied based on the use of ICD-9 codes.
[Also: New ICD-10 bill asks for transition period, but not a delay]
Other recent bills calling for a delay or transition to ICD-10 have gone nowhere, to date.
Palmer said rural and smaller physician practices are not ready for ICD-10.
Protecting Patients and Physicians Against Coding Act of 2015 (PDF)
Protecting Patients and Physicians Against Coding Act of 2015 (Text)
Twitter: @SusanMorseHFN