March 25, 2016

More ICD-10 Codes and Meeting Dates

By Laurie Johnson, MS, RHIA, CPC-H, FAHIMA, AHIMA-Approved ICD-10-CM/PCS Trainer

EDITOR’S NOTE: ICD10monitor produced a special edition broadcast on Friday, March 11 covering the outcome of the Coordination and Maintenance Committee meeting. This article is a follow up to the broadcast.

A Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Coordination and Maintenance Committee meeting was held on March 9-10 to discuss the new diagnosis and procedure code proposals.

For adoption for Oct. 1, 2016 will be a total of 3,651 new procedure codes. The procedure materials from the meeting can be found online at https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Coding/ICD9ProviderDiagnosticCodes/ICD-9-CM-C-and-M-Meeting-Materials.html.

The diagnosis codes are a little more complicated. There are 1,928 new codes pending, based on the previous Coordination and Maintenance Committee meetings, but the total does not include any codes requiring expedited status, or any presented at this March meeting. The majority of the codes from the most recent meeting will not be implemented until Oct. 1, 2017.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has asked for the Zika virus code to be the only expedited code to become effective Oct. 1, 2016. The diagnosis meeting materials are available online at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/icd/icd9cm_maintenance.htm. As of March 21, the CDC has not provided a diagnosis summary of the latest Coordination and Maintenance Committee meeting.

Comments regarding these proposals for ICD-10-CM codes to be implemented by Oct. 1, 2016 are due April 8, 2016. Those comments can be sent to . If you are making comments on ICD-10-CM codes to be implemented on Oct. 1, 2017, the comments are due by May 6, 2016. Of course, the sooner commenters can submit their opinions, the easier it would be for the CDC.

The final decisions regarding the proposed diagnosis and procedure codes are made with consideration of the public’s comments. CMS will finalize the 2017 ICD-10-PCS code set, while the CDC will finalize the 2017 ICD-10-CM code set.

If you want a say in the direction of these developments, it is up to the coding community to voice its opinions. Review the video of the presentations after it becomes available later this month, and provide comments. The final version of the 2017 diagnosis and procedure addenda is scheduled to be released in June 2016.

The Inpatient Prospective Payment System proposed rule will be published in April, with the final rule scheduled for publishing on Aug. 1, 2016. The 2017 general equivalence mappings (GEMs) will be published in August 2016.

Laurie Johnson, MS, RHIA, CPC-H, FAHIMA, AHIMA-Approved ICD-10-CM/PCS Trainer

Laurie M. Johnson, MS, RHIA, FAHIMA is currently a senior healthcare consultant for Revenue Cycle Solutions, based in Pittsburgh, Pa. Laurie is an American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) approved ICD-10-CM/PCS trainer. She has more than 35 years of experience in health information management and specializes in coding and related functions. She has been a featured speaker in over 40 conferences. Laurie is a member of the ICD10monitor editorial board and makes frequent appearances on Talk Ten Tuesdays.