Pathology/Lab Coding Alert

But don't count on the delay quite yet, expert warns.

You'll have until Oct. 1, 2014 (instead of 2013) to implement ICD-10, according to a proposed rule announced April 9 by Kathleen Sebelius, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary.

You can read about the one-year delay is in an April 9 press release, "New Health Care Law Provisions Cut Red Tape, Save Up to $4.6 Billion," at www.cms.gov/apps/media/press_releases.asp. You can view the full proposed rule, CMS-0040-P, at www.ofr.gov/inspection.aspx.

Change Reflects Provider Input

"Many provider groups have expressed serious concerns about their ability to meet the Oct. 1, 2013 compliance date," CMS stated in the release.

HHS believes the change in the compliance date for ICD-10, as proposed in this rule, would give providers and other covered entities more time to prepare and fully test their systems to ensure a smooth and coordinated transition among all industry segments, says Michael A. Granovsky, MD, FACEP, CPC, President of LogixHealth, a medical coding and billing company in Bedford, Mass.

The American Medical Association, which was a vocal proponent of an ICD-10 implementation delay, cheered the news. "The American Medical Association and physicians across the nation appreciate that CMS has proposed delaying the ICD-10 implementation date to October 1, 2014," said Peter W. Carmel, MD, the AMA's president. "The postponement is the first of many steps that regulators need to take to reduce the number of costly, time-consuming regulatory burdens that physicians are shouldering."

Caution: Rule is 'Proposed,' not 'Final'

Don't write the new ICD-10 deadline in pen quite yet. "ICD-10-CM is not delayed until October 1, 2014," says Lisa Selman-Holman with Selman-Holman & Associates and CoDR -- Coding Done Right in Denton, Texas notes on her blog. The new deadline is merely a proposal. "The healthcare industry has the opportunity to comment on the proposal and then CMS can publish a final rule."

The billions this delay is expected to cost providers may stymie the delay. "Only time will tell," Selman-Holman says.