GAO reports on CMS efforts to prepare for ICD-10

The Government Accountability Office Friday issued a report summarizing actions by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to support the Oct. 1 transition to the ICD-10 coding system for health care claims. The findings are based on information collected from CMS and a sample of 28 stakeholder organizations, including the AHA, between July 2014 and January 2015. Among recent activities, the agency has scheduled end-to-end testing with 2,550 covered entities during three weeks in 2015, and plans this summer to issue an updated version of the Medicare-Severity Diagnosis-Related Groups to reflect the final inpatient prospective payment system rule for fiscal year 2016, the report notes. With respect to the impact of ICD-10 on clinical quality measures, CMS also plans to issue updated specifications for hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers in April, GAO said. The report was requested by leaders of the Senate Finance Committee. Based on the findings, the committee leaders expressed confidence that CMS is adequately preparing for the Oct. 1 deadline.