5010 Compliance Delayed Until July

If you’d been sweating the April 1 deadline for 5010 compliance, you can breathe a little easier now. CMS announced the latest delay on March 15.

CMS first decided to require the 5010 format Jan. 1, but in November 2011, it announced a delay of three months. Presently it has been delayed by another three months, to June 30..

Providers and other claims submitters "have been making steady progress," CMS said in its announcement. "The Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) program is currently reporting successful receipt and processing of over 70 percent of all Part A claims and over 90 percent of all Part B claims in the Version 5010 format.".

But some technical glitches are still plaguing the new format. "There are still a number of outstanding issues and challenges impeding full implementation," CMS admits. CMS’s Office of E-Health Standards and Services "believes that these remaining issues warrant an extension of enforcement discretion to ensure that all entities can complete the transition.".

CMS plans "to expand technical assistance opportunities and eliminate remaining barriers," the agency pledges.