MGMA Protests 5010-Related Payment Delays

The Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) has sent the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) a letter complaining that physician practices are having trouble getting paid because of the transition to the HIPAA 5010 electronic transaction set, which went into effect on Jan. 1. MGMA demanded that CMS take action to prevent further disruptions to physicians' cash flow.

"Should the government not take the necessary steps, many practices face significantly delayed revenue, operational difficulties, a reduced ability to treat patients, staff layoffs, or even the prospect of closing their practice," MGMA wrote. "As the transition to Version 5010 is a mandatory step toward ICD-10 implementation, this raises even more concerns, understanding the magnitude of ICD-10 is exponentially greater than Version 5010."

The reference to ICD-10 comes just a week after the American Medical Association sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner asking him to stop the implementation of the ICD-10 diagnostic code set, scheduled for Oct. 1, 2013.