Motion Passes in Senate - ICD-10 Delayed to 2015

The Senate has just approved H.R. 4302 (Doc fix) bill to, amongst other things, delay the ICD-10 implementation date to October 1, 2015.

Although there is another 12 month delay, this should not mean that you stop your ICD-10 education training.

Without a single mention of ICD-10, the Senate has pushed back the compliance date for the next code set by a full year with the passing of legislation aimed at providing a one-year patch for the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR). This also means the 24% in Medicare physician payment cuts will be delayed for another year and come up for vote again in 2015.

But the bill the Senate passed Monday does more than simply delay the SGR's planned cuts, including:

• Delays till Oct. 1, 2015, the switch to ICD-10
• Provides a 0.5% Medicare pay bump over that 12-month period
• Revalues certain physician payment codes
• Creates a program designed to promote proper use of diagnostic tests and treatments and discourage their overuse
• Authorizes a multistate pilot program designed to raise standards for mental health services and improve integration of care

The legislation also delays a requirement for hospitals to comply with the "two-midnight" rule for inpatient reimbursement, and pushes back recovery audits of allegedly unnecessary claims until March 2015.

Monday's patch is the 17th patch to the ill-designed SGR formula.

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