CMS’s One Year ICD-10 Flexibilities Grace Period is Ending

October 1, 2016, marks the end of the one year grace period CMS has established for utilizing unspecified diagnosis codes. Physician billers should be prepared to see more denials and less leniency for submitting claims not coded to the highest level of specificity. These changes will not be phased in, and as of October 1, 2016, CMS states in an updated FAQ relating to the end of ICD-10 flexibilities that “providers will be required to code accurately to reflect the clinical documentation in as much specificity as possible, as per the required coding guidelines.” Ensuring compliance to these coding guidelines will reduce the chance of a negative impact on the physician billing revenue cycle.