GOP senators want info on CMS ICD-10 testing plans

Another group has called federal ICD-10 testing plans into question. This time, a group of Republican senators have sent a letter to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Administrator Marilyn Tavenner warning that inadequate testing of ICD-10 code sets could result in "system-wide errors and delay[s]" similar to those that hampered the launch of HealthCare.gov.

CMS is scheduled to conduct front-end testing on the new code set--which go from about 14,000 codes in the ICD-9 system to 69,000 in the ICD-10 system--during the week of March 3.

Sens. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.); John Barrasso (R-Wyo.); John Boozman (R-Ark.); and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) signed the letter which asks Tavenner to answer several questions by Feb. 26. Questions include: how will CMS measure the success of the testing period; will CMS allow providers to try claim adjudication to ensure claims can be submitted and paid properly under the new system; and has CMS scheduled any internal or third-party testing before the system is fully implemented.

The "brevity and limited scope of this test is worrisome," wrote the GOP senators, and they called on CMS to "establish clear metrics and perform system-wide tests to certify its readiness."

Read the entire letter.