The Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI) has developed two new resources to help groupsput in place the new ICD-10 codes required by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
The new resources, ICD-10 State Workers’ Compensation Readiness List and the List of State Medicaid Sites with ICD-10 Information, have been formulated with the aim of “Ensuring that all entities are adopting and or are aligning with ICD-10”. These resources will “help further [the health] industry’s movement towards streamlining and automating end-to-end workflow processes”.
The new ICD-10 codes must be implemented by HIPAA-covered bodies under federal law; but the new codes do not need to be taken on board by the workers’ compensation industry. The industry is now operating with greater alignment with HIPAA Transaction and Code Set rules, but rather than being governed by a national mandate, the industry is instead subject to state laws.
A number of states will be implementing ICD-10 codes, so it is therefore vital that payers, providers and vendors are aware of new state requirements so they can take the required action ahead of the October 1, deadline for using the new codes. States that do not adopt ICD-10 must run dual processing systems to allow for the new codes.
WEDI has written to all state governors requesting information on the current status of their state with regards to the move to ICD-10, and has sought confirmation whether they intend to adhere to the new codes. As new information is submitted, the Workers’ Compensation Readiness List will be updated. WEDI will issue warnings when new information is added. People can sign up to receive these alerts via the WEDI website.
Sherry Wilson, co-chair of the WEDI Property and Casualty Sub-workgroup commented, “It is critical that industry stakeholders are aware of the status of states’ ICD-10 readiness in order to implement the appropriate action plan to comply with both state and federal regulations come October 1, 2015, regardless of whether organizations are HIPAA covered entities”.
Jim Daley, co-chair of WEDI’s ICD-10 Committee and director of IT for BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, recently stated the ICD-10 State Workers’ Compensation Readiness List is “A great resource to see the status of where your state is in terms of ICD-10 adoption for workers’ comp.” The list details the states that will be implementing the new ICD-10 codes, and which ones will not be doing so.
The List of State Medicaid Sites with ICD-10 Information is intended to serve as a guidance document for HIPAA-covered bodies to use during the transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10 codes.
