Black, ACR Praise CMS’s ICD-10 12-Month Safe Harbor Period
By - The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and Congressman Diane Black (R-TN-06) applaud the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid’s (CMS’s) announcement this week to enact a 12-month safe harbor period following October’s ICD-10 implementation deadline.
As RevCycleIntelligence.com confirmed in a recent interview with ACR’s Government Affairs Committee Chair, the ACR, along with various state lawmakers and the American Medical Association (AMA), strongly supports an ICD-10 “grace period.”
According to CMS’s 4-step outline, Medicare claims will not be denied or audited because of ICD-10 diagnosis code specificity, dependent upon physicians’ ability to submit ICD-10 codes within an appropriate code family. Additionally, providers will not face penalties while reporting for quality programs due to hiccups stemming from new code confusion or errors. CMS additionally confirms it will implement additional resources to smooth out possible ICD-10 wrinkles come October.
“The ICD-10 guidance issued yesterday is an important step toward establishing a reasonable and responsible transition to the ICD-10 code set,” states Bill St. Clair, MD, President of the ACR and a practicing rheumatologist. “The ACR has been a vocal advocate for safe harbor protections, specifically those outlined in the ICD-TEN Act (H.R. 2247). The new guidance addresses many of our members’ concerns about the impact of ICD-10 on small and rural practices, and we will continue to work to ensure a stable transition in other areas,” he adds.
Echoing ACR’s viewpoints, Congressman Black also released congratulatory comments in a statement today regarding CMS’s recent announcement. Black, who serves on the House Ways and Means Budget Committees, confirms it is her obligation as Representative of Tennessee’s 6th Congressional District to ensure the ICD-10 transition eliminates unfair risk for healthcare providers, especially those who serve Medicare beneficiaries.
“As a nurse for more than 40 years, I’m as passionate as anyone about moving forward in healthcare technology and I recognize the possibilities within ICD-10 to improve information sharing between providers, insurers, and patients,” Black states. “We also know, however, that adopting a new coding system with more than five times the number of diagnosis and billing codes can prove to be a challenge for any provider, especially those who practice in rural areas, which serve some of our nation’s most vulnerable patients,” she maintains.
“The ICD-TEN Act would provide an 18-month ‘safe harbor’ transitional period after the implementation date of October 1, 2015, to protect providers in the event of a minor error with the wrong diagnosis sub-code,” Black states. “Similarly, CMS announced yesterday that they will be offering a safe harbor of 12 months for providers where claims cannot be denied ‘based solely on the specificity of the ICD-10 diagnosis code’ as long as other portions of the code are valid. This transition period is a responsible solution that marks a win for our health care providers and the patients they care for.”
