HHS Delays ICD-10 Deadline

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services responds to increasing pressure from AMA and others to reduce regulatory 'burden' from the new medical billing coding system.

Bowing to pressure from the American Medical Association (AMA) and others, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has agreed to delay the timeline for healthcare providers to switch to ICD-10 coding.

On Thursday, HHS secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that the department would "initiate a process" to push back the ICD-10 compliance deadline from Oct. 1, 2013, to an unspecified later date.

"We have heard from many in the provider community who have concerns about the administrative burdens they face in the years ahead. We are committing to work with the provider community to reexamine the pace at which HHS and the nation implement these important improvements to our healthcare system," Sebelius said in a statement.

According to HHS, the decision was part of the Obama administration's "commitment to reducing regulatory burden," a phrase used by many administrations, both Democratic and Republican, in the past.

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