On October 1, 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will end its year-long ICD-10 “grace period.”
This Medicare ICD-10 flexibilities period was instituted to help ease the transition to the new coding requirements adopted last year.
On October 1, 2016, all diagnosis coding must be to the correct level of specificity. Claims not coded correctly may not be processed and could receive an audit.
In August, CMS published new frequently asked questions and responses pertaining to guidance regarding ICD-10 flexibilities. In this FAQ, CMS stated it would not extend ICD-10 flexibilities beyond October 1, 2016.
For assistance with ICD-10, use PGM’s ICD-10 coding tools.