Coordination and Maintenance Committee Presses Forward Despite Pandemic

2020 has been a very different year than previous years, as far as code development and release go. The Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) Proposed Rule for the 2021 fiscal year was released later than expected. The ICD-10-CM/PCS codes were published on time. And now, the IPPS Final Rule is more than two weeks late. “Inconsistency” has been the word of the pandemic year. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) has updated ICD-10 with a code of U07.2, using the descriptor of COVID-19, virus not identified. This code has not been adopted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for ICD-10-CM. There is now inconsistency between ICD-10 and ICD-10-CM.

One event that has not been impacted is the Coordination and Maintenance Committee meeting. This is an interdepartmental meeting that includes representatives of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the CDC, and is held twice per year.  The meeting has included physical attendance in the past, and more recently it expanded to be simultaneously broadcasted over the Internet. The next Coordination and Maintenance Committee meeting will be held Sept. 8 and 9, beginning at 9 a.m. EST both days. Lunch will be from 12:30-1:15 p.m., and the meetings will close at 5 p.m.

The diagnosis topics are led by the CDC, and the tentative agenda includes:

• Acute flaccid myelitis
• Anaplastic large cell lymphoma, ALK-negative, of the breast
• Cervicogenic headache
• Cough
• Endometriosis
• Hereditary alpha tryptasemia
• Immune effector cell associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS)
• Complications of immune effector cellular (IEC) therapy
• Immunization counseling
• Mild cognitive disorder due to known physiologic condition
• Pyruvate kinase (PK) deficiency
• Post-procedure anastomotic leak of digestive system organ
• Refractory angina pectoris
• Short stature

The procedure topics are presented by CMS, and the tentative agenda includes:

• Administration of
  • Immune effector cell therapy
  • Lifileucel
  • Ide-cel
  • Narsoplimab
• CAR T-cell immunotherapies
• Embolic protection
• Spinal stabilization and posterior dynamic spinal stabilization
• Restriction of coronary sinus
• Single-use duodenoscope during ERCP
• Insertion of implantable bone void filler
• Vertebral body tethering
• Section X updates

The meetings will begin with the procedure topics, with the diagnosis material to follow. Each meeting will also review addenda for 2021. The tentative agendas can be found online here:

• CMS: https://www.cms.gov/files/document/september2020tentative-agendafinal.pdf
• CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/icd/Tentative-Agenda-Sept-2020.pdf

The meeting will be conducted over Zoom, and attendees will have the ability to comment using the chat feature. Questions may be asked during the Q&A portions by using the “Raise Your Hand” feature. All comments and questions with the answers will be posted in the Downloads section. Comments may be submitted after the meeting, using the appropriate email addresses.

• CMS: ICDProcedureCodeRequest@cms.hhs.gov
• CDC: nchsicd10CM@cdc.gov

This is an important opportunity to participate in the development of ICD-10 codes. Remember that free continuing education credits are awarded by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) and AAPC for your participation.

Additional Resources:

https://icd.who.int/browse10/2019/en#/U00-U49