Poe: Cut Costly Codes

Press Release

Congressman Ted Poe (TX-02) recently introduced the Cutting Costly Codes Act (H.R. 1701) to prohibit the federal government from requiring the medical community to comply with the new set of codes under the International Classification of Diseases (ICD).

The U.S. currently operates under ICD-9, which has about 13,000 diagnostic codes. HHS has set October 1, 2014 as a mandatory deadline for the health care community to implement the new ICD-10, which has 68,000 diagnostic codes. That's not including the 87,000 procedural codes. The federal government will require that all medical practices comply with the expanded and expensive standards next year. Estimated costs of compliance start at $85,000 for a small practice and up to $250,000 for a larger practice.
"The new ICD-10 codes will not make one patient healthier," said Rep. Poe. "What they will do is further complicate our healthcare system, adding more burdens on our medical community. Instead of hiring one more doctor or nurse to help patients, medical practices will need to spend tens of thousands just to hire a specialist who understands the new codes. This adds a thicker layer of bureaucracy between doctors and patients. Big government must get out of the way and let doctors do what they were trained to do---help people."

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