Doctors, health plans want longer ICD-10 timeline

A growing list of healthcare organizations, including the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA), American Medical Association and America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), are raising objections to HHS's proposed timeline for switching providers from ICD-9-CM clinical codes to ICD-10. HHS has recommended that providers make the switch from ICD-9 to ICD-10 by October 2011. However, the aforementioned groups object to this timeline, arguing that it's not long enough. The MGMA and AHIP, in particular, want to see a two-year transition to version 5010 of the X12 transaction standards, which would add a few months more than HHS's proposed April 1, 2010 deadline. 

AHIP and MGMA also want an additional three years to transition to the ICD-10 coding system. This is, in part, because the transition will be costly for medical groups. In fact, 95 percent of medical practices will have to upgrade or buy new practice management systems to comply with ICD-10. Almost two-thirds of practices will have to buy code-selection software as well, respondents said.

To learn more about the groups' objections:
- read this iHealthBeat article

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Switch to ICD-10 should be very costly

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