The Imminent Industry-Association War Over ICD-10

Just as the seceding South Carolinians firing on the Union Ship “Star of the West” became recognized as the first shot in the Civil War, the American Medical Association’s delegates voting to vigorously oppose ICD-10 may one day been seen as the salvo that set a conflict over coding sets in motion.

The stage is set for a war over U.S. adoption of ICD-10. Indeed, such a fight could pit industry associations that stand to profit from the code set against those representing the providers who have to actually implement and pay for the ICD-10 conversion. Less than a week after AMA revealed the voting results, in fact, AHIMA CEO Lynn Thomas Gordon struck back with a public statement maintaining that “there are countless benefits that will come from the use of a 21st century classification system."

Then, the AMA’s second shot, a late-January letter calling on U.S. House Speaker John Boehner to block ICD-10, again drew fire from AHIMA, in the form of a warning that healthcare entities should continue keep proceeding with ICD-10. Following that, on Thursday AMA sent another letter, this time to someone who definitely knew prior to receiving it what ICD-10 is, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

Opposing forces...