CMS looks for ICD-10 testing volunteers in July

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is continuing to look for problems in its billing and claims systems in advance of the switch to ICD-10 coding in October.

CMS in January completed a round of end-to-end testing that showed there were a few lingering problems but the vast majority of physicians filing claims in the test were getting paid.

That said, the agency is holding two more rounds of end-to-end testing from April 27 to May 1 and from July 20 to July 24. CMS has already selected its volunteer providers for the test later this month but is still taking applications for the summer, which is so far the last round of scheduled end-to-end testing before the changes go forward.

Around 850 physicians and other providers will participate in the test, submitting claims in combination with Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) and the Common Electronic Data Interchange (CEDI) contractor.

If you would like to volunteer, application forms are available from your MAC and are due April 17. The MACs and CEDI will notify eligible volunteers by May 8 with additional instructions. If you participated in the January test or are participating in the test this month, you can participate in the July test without reapplying.

For more information, download the following Medicare Learning Network (MLN) articles:
• “ICD-10 Limited End-to-End Testing with Submitters for 2015,”
• “FAQs – ICD-10 End-to-End Testing,”
• “Medicare FFS ICD-10 Testing Approach.”