Ambulance providers and billers should be prepared too!

As ambulance providers around the country brace for the Oct. 1 conversion to ICD-10 diagnostic and procedural codes, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is reporting positive results from the final round of end-to-end testing of the Medicare claims processing system. 

Overall, the CMS reported an 87% acceptance rate on 29,286 claims received. 

What does this mean for your local ambulance service? According to PAAW Executive Director Joe Covelli, "The need for excellent patient care documentation by EMTs and Paramedics, so the correct billing code can be applied to a largely expanded list of complex codes.  The other important item is ambulance billers must test and be ready to go with compliant ICD-10 software on October 1. The last thing anyone wants is a payment delay or rejection by CMS."

>> Click for information on ICD-10

>> Click for PAAW's webcast, completed in 2012, about the upcoming ICD-10 conversion that is still relevant today.

Source:  American Ambulance Association