Update on Implementation of ICD-10 Codes for MMSEA Reporting

On April 1, 2014, President Obama signed H.R. 4302, the “Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014” which postpones the implementation of ICD-10 codes. Per Section 212 of the Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services may not, prior to October 1, 2015, adopt ICD-10 code sets.

ICD-10 codes are being implemented to provide additional information about patients’ medical conditions and inpatient procedures. Current ICD-9 codes are mostly numeric and contain 3 to 5 characters. ICD-10 codes are alphanumeric and contain 3 to 7 characters, allowing the codes to be more descriptive.

We will continue to monitor this legislation, and will report future developments.