House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and House Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (R-TX) issued a joint statement this week backing the Oct. 1, 2015 deadline for the ICD-10 transition.
The statement is below:
“As we look ahead to the implementation date of ICD-10 on October 1, 2015, we will continue our close communication with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to ensure that the deadline can successfully be met by stakeholders,” said Upton and Sessions. “This is an important milestone in the future of health care technologies, and it is essential that we understand the state of preparedness at CMS. Following the most recent delay of ICD-10, we heard from a number of interested parties concerned about falling behind or halting progress. We would like to acknowledge and thank these organizations and individuals for opening up this dialogue and expressing their thoughts and concerns regarding this issue. It is our priority to ensure that we continue to move forward in health care technology and do so in a way that addresses the concerns of all those affected and ensure that the system works.”
The ICD-10 implementation deadline, which has been delayed multiple times already, could get moved back again if medical advocacy groups have their way. Groups like the American Medical Association (AMA) were pushing to have a two-year ICD-10 delay included in the recently approved spending bill to no avail. These efforts have received push back from other advocacy groups, like the American Health Information Management Association, which want to see the 2015 deadline stay in tact. Undoubtedly, receiving support from Sessions and Upton is a big win for those in favor of keeping the deadline in 2015.
