CMS is holding a third session of ICD-10 end-to-end testing at the end of July, and volunteer forms must be submitted by April 17. The forms can be found by accessing the CMS contract directory.

ICD-10 end-to-end testing gives volunteers a chance to confirm their ICD-10 code sets are working properly before the Oct. 1 compliance deadline.

Testers will be able to submit 50 claims to a Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC). While acknowledgement testing allows testers to receive confirmation that their claims were accepted or rejected, end-to-end testing goes much deeper into the process. Providers who participate in end-to-end testing will have their claims processed through all Medicare system edits, receiving an accurate Electronic Remittance Advice.

Approximately 850 volunteers will be chosen to take part in the testing, representing a cross-section of provider, calim and submitter types. Any testers who participated in January or April’s sessions are automatically registered.

CMS recently reported the results of January’s end-to-end testing session. A total of 14,929 tests claims were received by MACs and processed through Medicare billing systems, and 81% (12,149) of those claims were accepted. 6% of the claims were rejected due to an invalid submission, and the other 13% were rejected due to non-ICD-10 issues.

CMS views these numbers as good news that providers are adapting to the code set change.

“The positive test results demonstrates that healthcare organizations are actively engaging in testing and preparations for ICD-10,” a CMS official told RadiologyBusiness.com via e-mail.