Home Health & Hospice Week

New CMS education tool may help you with the transition. Grappling with the new diagnosis codes that took effect this month is a hassle, but a much bigger coding headache soon is coming down the pike -- unless influential doctors and payers get their way. In an August proposed rule, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services floated a 2011 im-plementation date for the new ICD-10 coding system that will replace the current ICD-9 format (see Eli's HCW, Vol. XVII, No. 30, p. 238). The ICD-10 system will increase the number of diagnosis codes from the current 17,000 to a staggering 155,000. The "rapid" timeframe CMS had laid out for full ICD-10 implementation is unworkable, says the Medical Group Management Association. "The costs associated with implementing ICD-10 in such a short timeframe are markedly higher than what CMS has estimated," MGMA says based on a study conducted by Nachimson Advisors. The implementation timeframe "will place a major burden on providers, taking valuable time away from their patients and straining other resources needed to invest in health information technology," MGMA insists. Too hasty: The American Medical Asso-ciation "is deeply concerned that HHS is rushing head-first into the transition to a complex coding system without fully recognizing the impact on the health care system," adds AMA board chair Joseph M. Heyman, M.D. Providers aren't alone in opposing the deadline. The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association "has severe concerns about the proposed timeline for conversion to the ICD-10 code sets," says a BCBSA spokesperson. The timeline "could cause a healthcare meltdown that would impose a severe burden on patients, providers, states, government programs as well as health plans." BCBSA wants a five-year transition to the new ICD-10 system, it says. The other side: But the American Health Information Management Association endorses CMS's timeline. "Obviously the cost of implementation for ICD-10 will only grow the longer we delay initiating that process," AHIMA says. The Nachim-son study MGMA cites is biased, the association contends. Resource: To sign up for the Oct. 30 Eli-sponsored audioconference, "ICD-10 Preparation: What You Need To Know NOW," go to http://www.audioeducator.com/industry_conference.php?id=1304 or call 1-800-508-2582. And CMS offers an ICD-10-Clinical Mod-ification/Procedure Coding System Bookmark, which explains the ICD-10 system "including the benefits of adopting the system, recommended steps to be taken in order to plan and prepare for implementation of the system, and where additional information about the system can be found." To place your order, visit http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNProducts/01_Overview.asp, scroll down to "Re-lated Links Inside CMS" and select "MLN Product Ordering Page." • The 36-month oxygen cap that's been on the books since 2005 will start hitting Jan. 1 -- and suppliers still have few details about the new policy, industry representatives [...]