AHA: Move up ICD-10 testing process

The American Hospital Association (AHA) wants the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to move up its ICD-10 testing plans from March to January, make sure the process is available to all hospitals and establish the same testing date for all Medicare contractors.

The association said it recognizes CMS wants to educate providers on ICD-10, but ICD-10 testing must begin by the end of January because "extensive, end-to-end testing by Medicare contractors and state Medicaid agencies of both the electronic transaction and the adjudication of the claim will be needed to ensure a smooth transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10," Linda E. Fishman, senior vice president of public policy analysis and development, wrote in a letter from AHA to CMS.

According to AHA, successful testing requires the following two components:

• Testing connectivity and the transaction exchange for a claim containing ICD-10 codes. This will ensure any changes made to accommodate the codes do not create exchange problems, AHA wrote.
• Testing the providers' and payers' availability to correctly handle the ICD-10 content as part of the claims adjudication process. "This step will allow hospitals to identify and correct any errors in their documentation processes," AHA wrote.

Read AHA's letter to CMS.