HHS has been pushing this year to promulgate final rules implementing the new 5010 electronic transaction and ICD-10 code sets on a rapid schedule. Cooler heads, including the American Medical Association, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, and other provider groups and health plans, are advocating a three year extension of HHS’s proposed full conversion deadline — October 2013. Even the American Hospital Association which favors rapid conversion called for an extension in its formal comments to HHS albeit shorter than others. Healthcare IT News reports that hospital CIOs are “anxious” about the ICD-10 conversion, which is perfectly understandable.
I discovered on the reginfo.gov website that HHS submitted the final regulations for Office of Management and Budget review on December 12. It’s possible therefore that those final rules may be published before January 20. Stay tuned.