ICD-10 Testing!

Testing is a key part of your preparation for the October 1, 2015 transition to ICD-10-CM.  Acknowledgement testing can take place at any time; your Medicare Administrative Contractor will have additional resources available to assist you during designated weeks. March 2 – 6, 2015 and June 1 – 5, 2015 have been so designated.  See below for more information from CMS about how to participate:

Participate in ICD-10 Acknowledgement Testing Week: March 2 through 6, 2015

To help you prepare for the transition to ICD-10, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) offers acknowledgement testing for current direct submitters (providers and clearinghouses) to test with the Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) and the Durable Medical Equipment (DME) MAC Common Electronic Data Interchange (CEDI) contractor anytime up to the October 1, 2015, implementation date.

CMS previously conducted two successful acknowledgement testing weeks in March 2014 and November 2014. These acknowledgement testing weeks give submitters access to real-time help desk support and allow CMS to analyze testing data. Registration is not required for these virtual events.

Mark your calendar:

•             March 2 – 6, 2015

•             June 1 – 5, 2015

How to participate

Information is available on your MAC website or through your clearinghouse (if you use a clearinghouse to submit claims to Medicare). Any provider who submits claims electronically can participate in acknowledgement testing.

What you can expect during testing:

•             Test claims will receive the 277CA or 999 acknowledgement as appropriate, to confirm that the claim was accepted or rejected in the system.

•             Test claims will be subject to all current front-end edits, including edits for valid National Provider Identifiers (NPIs), Provider Transaction Access Numbers (PTANs), and codes, including Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) and place of service

•             Testing will not confirm claim payment or produce a Remittance Advice (RA)

•             MACs and CEDI will be staffed to handle increased call volume during this week

Testing tips:

•             Make sure test files have the "T" in the ISA15 field to indicate the file is a test file

•             Send ICD-10 coded test claims that closely resemble the claims that you currently submit

•             Use valid submitter ID, NPI, and PTAN combinations

•             Use current dates of service on test claims (i.e., October 1, 2014 through March 1, 2015)

•             Do not use future dates of service or your claim will be rejected

Not sure what type of testing you are eligible to participate in?

MLN Matters® Special Edition Article SE1501 explains the differences between acknowledgement and end-to-end testing with Medicare.

Other resources:

•             MLN Matters Article MM8858, “ICD-10 Testing - Acknowledgement Testing with Providers”

•             MLN Matters Special Edition Article SE1409, “Medicare FFS ICD-10 Testing Approach”

Keep Up to Date on ICD-10

Visit the CMS ICD-10 website for the latest news and resources to help you prepare. Sign up for CMS ICD-10 Industry Email Updates and follow us on Twitter.