ICD-10 end-to-end testing produces 88% acceptance rate

Providers, clearinghouses and billing agencies have “successfully” participated in the second ICD-10 end-to-end testing week, held April 27 through May 1, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

Overall, participants in the week-long testing were able to successfully submit 88 percent of ICD-10 claims—23,138 test claims were received and 20,306 were accepted. Tht is an increase from the 81 percent acceptance rate of January's testing. it also represents an increase in test claims submitted and a decrease in the percentage of errors related to diagnosis codes.

This latest testing included approximately 875 providers and billing companies, with 1,600 National Provider Identifiers (NPIs) registered to test, representing what CMS called a “broad cross-section of provider, claim and submitter types.” According to the agency, the testing demonstrated that CMS systems are ready to accept ICD-10 claims, emphasizing most of the claim rejections that occurred were unrelated to ICD-9 or ICD-10.

Reasons for rejected claims included: invalid submission of ICD-9 diagnosis or procedure code (1 percent) and invalid submission of ICD-10 diagnosis or procedure code (2 percent), incorrect NPI, Health Insurance Claim Number, or Submitter ID; dates of service outside the range valid for testing; invalid HCPCS codes; and invalid place of service. All are errors that also occurred in the January end -to-end testing week, according to CMS.

A final ICD-10 end-to-end testing week will be held July 20-24 but CMS is no longer accepting volunteers for this testing. Those who participated in the January and April end-to-end testing weeks are automatically eligible to test again in July.