Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

CMS has yet to announce a new implementation date.

Home health agencies should not relax efforts to be ready or the switch to the new OASIS-C1 assessment tool. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is examining the implications of the ICD-10 delay implemented in the recent doc fix bill, “and will provide guidance to providers and other stakeholders soon on the implementation of OASIS-C1,” a CMS rep says. 

Meanwhile, whether you’re cheering about the extra time you’ll have to prepare for ICD-10 or you’re devastated that you’ve invested time and money into a system that keeps getting pushed back, you can make the most of the extra time you now have to prepare for the upcoming diagnosis coding system.

Reminder: A specific date for ICD-10 implementation has not yet been announced, but it is clear that ICD-10 won’t go into effect until Oct. 1, 2015 at the very earliest, according to the recent legislation. These tips can help you maximize the additional time you’ll have before ICD-10 is implemented, and perhaps before OASIS-C1 takes effect.

Check CMS Website Periodically

CMS was very confident about its belief that ICD-10 would not be delayed beyond Oct. 1, 2014, and it isn’t releasing much information on delayed timelines yet. You can check in on the CMS website (www.cms.gov/icd10) throughout the year to get new tips on the ICD-10 program and how it will be implemented.

Keep an eye on www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/HomeHealthQualityInits/OASIS-C1.html for OASISC1 announcements. Until CMS says otherwise, OASIS-C1 implementation continues to be set for Oct. 1, 2014.

Keep the Momentum Going

If you’ve got an ICD-10 training and implementation plan in place, don’t scrap it now. Instead, just increase the detail in your training program so your staff is even more thoroughly prepared for the system before it goes into effect.

“The changes are in the implementation date, not that it is not coming at all, so prepare on,” advises certified coder Laureen Jandroep with CodingCertification.org in Oceanville, N.J. That preparation should continue to involve your whole staff, and not just your coders.

Work With Vendors

If you’ve already set up your systems to change over to ICD-10 and OASIS-C1 on Oct. 1, you should talk to your vendors to delay that process. Since you don’t yet know the exact new OASIS-C1 and ICD-10 implementation date, you can let the vendor know that you’re going to keep the switchover date open-ended until you have more information.