CMS signals it may delay deadline on new codes to be used by doctors, hospitals

Acting Director Marilyn Tavenner says the agency will re-examine the October 2013 deadline for the coding system, known as ICD-10. It expands the number of codes used for billing medical services.

The Wall Street Journal: Pace of New Medical Coding Implementation To Be 'Re-Examined'
Today the acting head of the Medicare agency, Marilyn Tavenner, said the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will "re-examine" the pace of ICD-10 implementation. … A CMS spokesman confirmed the remarks. … ICD-10, which stands for International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, is a new set of codes that will be used by doctors and hospitals to describe medical services in bills they send to insurers. It will expand the number of codes in use from around 18,000 in the current ICD-9 code set to about 140,000 (Wilde Mathews, 2/14).

CQ HealthBeat: Tavenner Rethinking Bill Coding Deadline
The AMA has been urging federal officials to delay the Oct. 1, 2013 deadline for physicians to adopt the new system. Tavenner said she will convene a task force on the issue and then launch rulemaking, to change the deadline (Reichard, 2/14).

Modern Healthcare: CMS Will Re-Examine ICD-10 Timeline, Tavenner Says
Tavenner told reporters that the CMS will "re-examine the timeframe" through a rulemaking process. She did not say when that rulemaking process will begin but said the CMS would send details about the process in the coming days (Zigmond, 2/14).

Modern Healthcare: Concern And Cautious Optimism From IT Leaders On Possible ICD-10 Delay
Members of the physician informatics community expressed surprise, elation and concern in reaction to the CMS' announcement that it will reconsider the Oct. 1, 2013 implementation deadline for the International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision family of diagnostic and procedural codes (Conn, 2/14).