ICD-10 Set for Oct. 1, 2013

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has set a “firm date” of Oct. 1, 2013 for the launch of the new ICD-10 coding system, according to a report from MedPage Today.

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"A number of you have contacted us [about rumored delays], but I can assure you that this is a firm date," Pat Brooks, senior technical adviser with CMS' Hospital and Ambulatory Policy Group, said during a conference call with providers on June 15.

According to MedPage, Brooks stressed that “any claims submitted to Medicare on or after that date will not be accepted unless they use the new codes.”

ICD-9, developed nearly 30 years ago, contains approximately 17,000 codes. Health plans, healthcare clearinghouses and healthcare providers that transmit information electronically are required to use ICD-9 codes by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).

The ICD-10 is the 10th edition of the International Classification of Diseases and contains more than 155,000 codes.