Yes, again. Text should be available soon.
Track the bill (but it’s really not likely to pass) at this very useful website: govtrack.us
Representative Ted Poe (R-TX) introduced a bill, H.R. 2126 on April 30, 2015, in yet another effort to prevent the Health and Human Services Secretary from replacing ICD-9 with ICD-10 as the standard HIPAA code set. The bill was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and to the Committee on Ways and Means, for consideration and recommendations before it may be brought before the U.S. House of Representatives for debate and vote.
A Predictable Move with Little Support
Rep. Poe is a well known and outspoken opponent of the change to ICD-10, having introduced a similar bill in 2013, H.R. 1701, also seeking to stop the change. However, that bill was never taken up by any House committees, so never reached the House floor.
Sue Bowman, Sr. Dir. of Coding Policy and Compliance, AHIMA, testified before the Energy & Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health on Feb. 11, 2015. Click the image to see video and download testimonies and transcripts.
According to Margarita Valdez, Senior Director of Congressional Relations at AHIMA, there appears to be little support for the bill, especially since the Ways and Means Committee has been supportive of ICD-10 all along. Last February, the Committee on Energy and Commerce already held an ICD-10 related hearing, where several senior committee members indicated their support for ICD-10. It is therefore highly unlikely that at least that committee will hold any further hearings on ICD-10.
H.R. 2126 is decidedly not a bipartisan bill, since it is co-sponsored by six Republicans: Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-TX), Rep. Mike D. Rogers (R-AL), Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL), Rep. Morgan H. Griffith (R-VA), Rep. Tom Price (R-GA), and Rep. David P. Roe (R-TN).
Let Your Voice Be Heard
AHIMA and the Coalition for ICD-10 have created a VERY easy way for anyone to contact their representatives and senators to implore them to allow no further delays in the implementation of ICD-10.
Click the image below to be taken to that page:
Click the image above to go to the AHIMA site to use their tool to write to Congress
