News: House bill potential freeze for ICD-10

Here we go again. On May 4, Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) introduced a new bill that could potentially cease ICD-10-CM/PCS implementation. The bill, H.R. 2126, could prevent the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services from replacing ICD-9 with the new code set standards.

Poe has openly opposed the new code set before, criticizing the extensive code volume that is, in his opinion, unnecessarily specific. Poe also adds that too many codes are problematic, as physicians failing to properly handle the codes would be in violation of the law.

This isn’t Poe’s first time in the ICD-10 spotlight. You might remember him from the introduction of the almost identical bill in April 2013, H.R. 1701, known as the “Cutting Costly Codes Act of 2013.” This bill, aimed at prohibiting HHS from replacing ICD-9 with ICD-10, supported the implementation delay on October 1, 2014. However, the bill was never discussed in committee.

Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health seemed to agree that we need ICD-10 in the February 11 ICD-10 implementation hearing.

Moreover, six fellow Republicans signed on as cosponsors of the bill, but the Democrats seem to be staying away.

For now, CMS insists that ICD-10 is happening, so don’t use this as an excuse to halt your preparations.

Editor’s Note: Portions of this article were compiled from JustCoding.com.