ICD-10 bill
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
The House Energy & Commerce and Ways & Means committees June 15 approved separate versions of a bill (HR 4157) to promote the use of health IT. The Ways & Means bill would mandate a switch to the next-generation ICD-10 Medicare coding system by Oct. 1, 2009, while the Energy & Commerce version eliminates the ICD-10 initiative. The implementation date for the coding change has been a topic of dispute between the device industry, which urges "expeditious" action, and private payors, who want more time to prepare (1"The Gray Sheet" June 5, 2006, p. 15). Companion health IT legislation (S 1418) passed by the Senate in November does not contain an ICD-10 provision...