The American Hospital Association and six other organizations representing hospitals have sent a letter to congressional leaders urging them to avoid any further delays of the transition to the ICD-10 coding system.
The following organizations joined the AHA in sending the letter: America's Essential Hospitals, Association of American Medical Colleges, Catholic Health Association of the U.S., Children's Hospital Association, National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems, Premier healthcare alliance, and VHA, Inc.
In the letter, the organizations stressed the importance of transitioning to ICD-10, as ICD-9 "is outdated," according to the letter. The seven organizations also highlighted the significant investments many hospitals made for the transition and added that any further delay past the Oct. 1, 2015, ICD-10 compliance deadline would create additional costs for the hospitals, as "existing investments would be further wasted."
The letter was sent to Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
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