April 16, 2015

An article headed “More ICD-10 anxiety: Third-party billers say neither tech nor clients are ready” appeared in the online edition of Modern Healthcare on April 10, 2015.  Anesthesia Business Consultants, LLC (ABC) is one third-party billing company that is definitely ready.

ABC has undertaken the following activities to prepare for ICD-10 since 2014:

• Updated our information systems to accommodate the ICD-10 codes;
• Performed end-to-end testing (in which a claim is sent, approved or rejected, and an electronic remittance advice, is returned) with all payers that have offered the opportunity to date;
• Trained our coding staff in the new codes and their application;
• Engaged in dual coding with both ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes assigned to 100 percent of claims.  Since this process began more than a year ago, we have used the data generated to identify problem areas and used the results to educate both providers and our coders; and
• Provided face-to-face and webinar training.

In the next few months, we will be launching an ICD-10 weekly “alert” or electronic newsletter with important updates that will help clients with the new documentation requirements.

According to the Modern Healthcare article, “Asked what was the biggest impediment to their firm's ICD-10 readiness, 39% of the members [of the Healthcare Billing & Management Association] surveyed cited problems with provider-supplied documentation, coding and a lack of ‘willingness’ on the part of their provider clients.”  “Willingness” entails a belief that ICD-10 is going to be implemented without further delays.

The changes in ABC’s clients’ documentation and our coding are still a work in progress and they are very much on track.  One of the principal reasons for the difference between ABC’s readiness and that of many others in the industry is our “willingness.” Unlike many others, we have been expecting ICD-10 implementation to proceed on schedule and have been preparing for the October 1, 2015 deadline. 

The signals from the Congressional hearings on ICD-10 have been, consistently, that CMS should move forward.  And the best opportunity for another ICD-10 delay was lost when Congress passed the long-awaited bipartisan SGR repeal legislation, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act, without including a delay.

ABC is firmly in the camp that believes the changeover to ICD-10 will happen on October 1st.  We will continue to do everything in our own power to make the change as smooth as possible for our valued clients.