Have you heard that saying before, “Everything’s Big in Texas!”?  I had the privilege of attending the NASL/ACHA conference this week in San Antonio and boy, the saying is true! Even the shrimp are big!! 

ICD-10 country wide is BIG too!! We are a little over a week in to ICD-10.  How are you surviving?  Don’t know yet until you submit your claims?  Well, that seems to be the concern among providers: Is my claim correct?  Will I be reimbursed?  Will my claim reject?  Where is CMS’ guidance on billing?  There is uneasiness out there of what the future will bring.

CMS says it will take a couple of weeks before they have a good idea of how ICD-10 implementation has transitioned.  Because very few health care providers submit their claims on the same day of service, there isn’t sufficient data available currently.  However, even after claims are submitted, the claims take several days to process and by law, payment must not be made for two weeks.  For Medicaid, claims can take up to 30 days to be submitted then processed.  Once claim data becomes available after a full billing cycle, CMS will have more information about the ICD-10 transition.

Here are some links to help answer some ICD-10 questions you may have.  CMS Resource Guide and Contact List CMS Clarifying Q & A CMS Blog  

As I am writing this blog and thinking back to my San Antonio trip, I am glad I didn’t fall into the river in Texas and sustain turtle bites.  But if I had, there is a code for that!!

Gina Tomcsik

Director of Compliance