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like this bring up a lot of questions. Would Medicare reimburse the
center for only the codes listed in the payment rule and exclude the
others, or would the entire claim be rejected because it included
codes not payable?
Listing excluded services on a claim with covered services would
not typically result in a claim rejection, according to staff at CMS
headquarters in Baltimore. Instead, only the lines that are excluded
from payment in ASCs would likely be rejected.
C O D I N G & B I L L I N G
With only a few months to go before the dead-
line for implementing the ICD-10 code set,
physicians at the 2015 AMA Annual Meeting
last month agreed to seek a 2-year grace peri-
od so that ICD-10-based claims submitted to
Medicare and Medicaid after the expected
switch in October would not be denied or with-
held due to coding errors, mistakes or mal-
functions in the system. The American Medical
Association says a grace period would let doctors more easily transition to the complex
system without affecting patients' care or their bottom line. AMA had previously asked
the government for another ICD-10 delay, saying the switch will "significantly over-
whelm" physicians with its 400% increase in the number of codes used to document
diagnosis and treatment of patients.
"We continue to press both Congress and the administration to take necessary steps to
avoid widespread disruption to physician practices created by this overly complex and
burdensome mandate," says Russell W.H. Kridel, MD, AMA board member. "Coding and
billing protocols should never get in the way of patients receiving high quality care."
— Kendal Gapinski
OCT. 1 ICD-10 DEADLINE
Doctors Ask for 2-Year ICD-10 Grace Period
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN