CMS: First end-to-end testing of ICD-10 successful overall

The health care community will be ready for ICD-10 on Oct. 1, according to recent results from end-to-end testing, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Marilyn Tavenner announced in a blog post today. About 660 health care providers and billing companies submitted nearly 15,000 test claims. “Overall, participants in the Jan. 26 to Feb. 3 testing were able to successfully submit ICD-10 claims and have them processed through our billing systems,” the agency said. “To the extent that some claims were rejected, most didn’t meet the mark because of errors unrelated to ICD-9 or ICD-10.” The testing was the first of three end-to-end testing weeks scheduled before Oct. 1, when health care providers and others must begin including ICD-10 diagnosis and procedure codes on Medicare and other health care claims. “CMS is ready for ICD-10,” Tavenner said. “And, thanks to our many partners – spanning providers, health plans, coders, clearinghouses, professional associations and vendor groups – the health care community at large will be ready for ICD-10 on Oct. 1.” For more on the transition to ICD-10, visit www.aha.org or www.cms.gov.