Oncology & Hematology Coding Alert

Obama signs the Medicare access and CHIP reauthorization act.

If you haven’t yet begun your preparations for ICD-10-CM transitions, don’t count on another delay from CMS. The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) has been signed by President Obama. You should now see the ICD-10-CM topic gain more momentum in the coming weeks and months.

It will be mandatory effective Oct 1, 2015, all healthcare providers who submit claims to Medicare adopt the ICD-10-CM to report healthcare diagnoses for all provider types, and procedures for hospitals. “You should begin to see some changes in the way the physician documents the patient’s condition, being more specific when needed and a bigger change in how claims are prepared,” says Kelly C. Loya, CPC-I, CHC, CPhT, CRMA, Director of Reimbursement and Advisory Services, Altegra Health, Inc. A planned transition can help the practice smoothly sail through this ostensibly tough time.

Read more on http://news.aapc.com/senate-passes-sgr-bill-no-icd-10-delay/ and follow an update on President Obama’s support on https://m.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/2015/04/16/president-obama-signs-medicare-access-and-chip-reauthorization-act.