Although CMS has agreed to delay the ICD-10 deadline again, by about a year, to Oct 1, 2014, citing possible disruption in healthcare reimbursements if the 2013 deadline is insisted upon, the American Medical Association (AMA) seems sure that even this might be a case of too little, too late. At one end of the spectrum there are reputed physicians who are questioning the very rationale of an ICD-10, convinced that more codes (55,000 more to be exact) may not necessarily mean better patient care. And there are those, like the AMA who are adopting a middle ground, believing that a two-year delay, as petitioned by them, could have just salvaged the situation.
Come what may, it seems highly likely that the 2014 deadline may stay put, and whether physicians and clinics like it or not, they have to submit their claims coded in ICD-10 come Oct 1, 2014; else their claims may not even be worth the paper they are printed upon. The payers (insurance companies) are on the move big time to meet the deadline. But the transition costs of the payers are always going to be much less than the providers when it comes to ICD-10. If recent press releases of some of the payers are anything to go by, it is predicted that they would become the staunchest supporters and the biggest drivers of ICD-10.
It is estimated that a decent-sized clinic might be incurring costs of close to $3 million to enable this transition. That is because pulling physicians, nurses, and other staff from their core tasks and putting them into ICD-10 training (which is inevitable considering its complexity) is going to eat into the valuable man hours of each of those personnel. This overhead cost along with software costs will surely put a lot of pressure on the already sagging bottom lines of clinics. Moreover, the healthcare community as a whole is already burdened with other incentive programs from CMS.
Although the situation might look akin to something lifted out of Catch-22; there is light at the end of the tunnel. And that light is in the form of outsourcing. Yes, dedicated medical coding and medical blling vendors are out there, who can considerably lessen the burden of this transition by employing their already ICD-10 trained and certified professionals. And the cost reduction of such a transfer would really be the icing on the cake.
So, don’t wait until it is too late, call BillingParadise on the toll-free at 1-888-571-9069 or email steve@billingparadise.com.
