Days after some members of a key House subcommittee broached the idea of allowing temporary use of both ICD-9 and ICD-10, CMS said that simply wouldn’t work.
 
Agencies and other care providers are preparing for the Oct. 1 implementation of ICD-10. But during a Feb. 11 Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee hearing on ICD-10 progress, some representatives asked about the feasibility of dual implementation. Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), for instance, mentioned that ICD-10 might lead to an even larger physician shortage, particularly in rural communities (HHL 2/23/15).
 
In a Feb. 20 revision to an MLN Matters article about ICD-10, CMS said it would not allow for dual processing after ICD-10’s implementation.
 
Medicare and many providers and payers already have coded their systems to only allow ICD-10 codes beginning Oct. 1, CMS said.
 
“The scope of systems changes and testing needed to allow for dual processing would require significant resources and could not be accomplished by the October 1, 2015, implementation date,” CMS said. “Should CMS allow for dual processing, it would force all entities with which we share data, including our trading partners, to also allow for dual processing.”
 
Also, accepting and processing both ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes in the same year “would have major ramifications for CMS quality, demonstration and risk adjustment programs,” CMS said.