The switch from ICD-9 to ICD-10 codes is supposed to happen in 2011.
Providers get to look forward to almost a 10-fold jump in number of codes, but also an increase in claim denials:
HHS is predicting that claims-error rates will rise between 6 and 10 percent of all claims at the ICD-10 implementation date, up from a normal 3 percent rate typically seen for annual updates of ICD-9.
The cost of the switch will be $1.64 billion dollars. Isn’t the government supposed to take the initiative on saving administrative health care dollars, instead of allowing this bureaucratic nightmare to happen?
