Colorado Medical Society

http://dev.cms.org/articles/volunteer-for-icd-10-end-to-end-testing-in-april-deadline-extended-to-jan/

Volunteer for ICD-10 end-to-end testing in April: Deadline extended to Jan. 21

Tuesday, January 13, 2015 08:40 AM

During the week of April 26 through May 1, 2015, a second sample group of providers will have the opportunity to participate in ICD-10 end-to-end testing with Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) and the Common Electronic Data Interchange (CEDI) contractor. The goal of end-to-end testing is to demonstrate that:

• Providers and submitters are able to successfully submit claims containing ICD-10 codes to the Medicare Fee-For Service (FFS) claims systems
• The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (federal CMS) software changes made to support ICD-10 result in appropriately adjudicated claims
• Accurate remittance advices are produced

Approximately 850 volunteer submitters will be selected to participate in the April end-to-end testing. This nationwide sample will yield meaningful results, since the federal CMS intends to select volunteers representing a broad cross-section of provider, claim, and submitter types, including claims clearinghouses that submit claims for large numbers of providers. Note: Testers who are participating in the January testing are able to test again in April and July without re-applying.

To volunteer as a testing submitter:

• Volunteer forms are available on your MAC website.
• Completed volunteer forms are due Jan. 21.
• The federal CMS will review applications and select the group of testing submitters.
• By Feb. 13, the MACs and CEDI will notify the volunteers selected to test and provide them with the information needed for the testing.

If selected, testers must be able to:

• Submit future-dated claims.
• Provide valid National Provider Identifiers (NPIs), Provider Transaction Access Numbers (PTANs), and beneficiary Health Insurance Claim Numbers (HICNs) that will be used for test claims. This information will be needed by your MAC by Feb. 20, 2015 for set-up purposes; Testers will be dropped if information is not provided by the deadline.

An additional opportunity for end-to-end testing will be available during the week of July 20 through 24, 2015. Any issues identified during testing will be addressed prior to ICD-10 implementation. Educational materials will be developed for providers and submitters based on the testing results.

For more information, read MLN Matters® Special Edition Article #SE1409, “Medicare FFS ICD-10 Testing Approach” or MLN Matters® Special Edition Article #SE1435, “FAQs – ICD-10 End-to-End Testing”.