Home Health & Hospice Week

Question: I have heard that there will be a test period for using ICD-10 codes on claims before the October 1, 2014 implementation. When will that be?

Connecticut Subscriber

Answer: You’ll get to test out your ICD-10 coding skills this spring with a dry run that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services plans to offer providers who want to submit sample ICD-10 claims. During the week of March 3 through March 7, 2014, your Medicare Administrative Contractor will allow you to send in test claims that include ICD-10 diagnosis codes. If you have difficulty processing the claims, you’ll be able to contact the help desk to figure out what went wrong. And you will get electronic acknowledgement of your test claims that will tell you whether they were accepted or rejected.

After the testing period ends, CMS will share information about the percentage of test claims that were accepted versus rejected, and will offer additional information about lessons learned during the testing period.

Note: To read more about the ICD-10 test dates, visit www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Education/Medicare-Learning-Network-MLN/MLNMattersArticles/Downloads/MM8465.pdf.