The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid is ready to process claims using the new ICD-10 codes, according to a report released Friday by the Government Accountability Office, days before a House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Health hearing on ICD-10 preparedness.
[Also: ICD-10 heads to the hill]
The 41-page GAO report states CMS has taken a number of steps to address provider concerns about the move to ICD-10, and interviewed 28 stakeholders.
Stakeholders expressed concern that CMS's testing activities have not been comprehensive, according to the report. In addition, while all 28 of those interviewed indicated that CMS's educational materials were helpful to covered entities, stakeholders were concerned about the extent to which those entities were aware of and using those materials, the report stated.
CMS responded by scheduling end-to-end testing with 2,550 covered entities during three weeks in 2015: in January, April and July, according to the GAO report. It is also promoting awareness of its educational materials by partnering with payers, providers, and others to direct users to available CMS and industry educational resources, it said.
Stakeholders also recommended that CMS expand its in-person training and develop additional specialty-specific materials. CMS officials said the agency has added in-person training in additional states with plans to also offer more video trainings, and planned to develop additional specialty-specific materials.
Follow Healthcare Finance on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Additionally, stakeholders recommended that CMS do more to engage covered entities through non-electronic methods and to make its Medicare FFS contingency plans public. CMS officials indicated that the agency employs various methods to engage covered entities—including bi-weekly stakeholder collaboration meetings and print advertisements—and also conducted a direct mail pilot project to primary care practices in four states, and plans to expand the pilot, according to the report.
ICD-10, which has been delayed in the past, is to be implemented on Oct. 1.
The Subcommittee on Health is holding the hearing, “Examining ICD-10 Implementation” at 10:15 a.m., Wednesday, Feb. 11 at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C. The hearing is available to view live by webinar.
Witnesses include Edwin M. Burke, MD, Bayer Medical Group; Rich F. Averill, Director of Public Policy, 3M Health Information Systems; Sue Bowman, Senior Director, Coding Policy and Compliance, American Health Information Management Association; Kristi A. Matus, Chief Financial and Administrative Officer, Athena Health; William Jefferson Terry, MD, Mobile Urology Group; Carmella Bocchino, Executive Vice President of Clinical Affairs and Strategic Planning, America’s Health Insurance Plans; and Dr. John Hughes, Professor of Medicine, Yale University.
Twitter: @SusanMorseHFN