AMA: ICD-10 Implementation To Be Significantly More Costly February 12, 2014 Advocacy, AMA, Practice Management ICD-10, AMA 0 New estimates of costs to implement the federally mandated ICD-10 code set by October could be up to three times more than previously estimated, according to an updated cost study published Wednesday by the American Medical Association. The study updates research AMA conducted on ICD-10 in 2008. For the studies, AMA's cost estimates include expenses related to: Payment disruptions Physician productivity losses Practice assessments Testing Training Study Findings The updated 2014 analysis found that ICD-10 implementation will cost: $56,639 to $226,015 for small practices, compared with an estimated $83,290 in 2008; $213,364 to $824,735 for medium practices, compared with an estimated $285,195 in 2008; and $2,017,151 to $8,018,364 for large practices, compared with an estimated $2,728,780 in 2008. According to Healthcare IT News, about 66% of physician practices are likely to fall into the upper range of the cost estimates. The higher 2014 cost estimates are the result of significant post-implementation expenses, such as testing and the potential risk of payment disruption. AMA Letter In response to the findings, AMA CEO and Executive Vice President James Madara sent a letter to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius asking the agency to "strongly ... reconsider" the ICD-10 mandate. Madara also recommended that CMS introduce: End-to-end testing for all physicians A two-year implementation period in which Medicare cannot deny reimbursements based on ICD-10 code requirements A Medicare policy that no additional data will be required if the most specific codes are submitted by doctors A tweak to CMS' advance payment policy to allow for extenuating circumstances if a physician has a good reputation with the program Click here to view AMA’s letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Click here to view the AMA ICD-10 cost study. What You Can Do These numbers are too important to ignore. Physicians can ask their members of Congress to co-sponsor legislation to stop ICD-10 implementation, known as the Cutting Costly Codes Act of 2013, by sending an email through the AMA’s Physician Grassroots Network. Additionally, share this post on social media, and help us #StopICD10. Comments are closed.
