This past Tuesday, the National Uniform Claim Committee, or (NUCC), released an approved transition timeline for the new CMS 1500 form on their website. Recently, the NUCC announced the approval of the updated changes to the 02/12 version of the CMS 1500 Form.
The revised version of the 02/12 CMS 1500 form is now available for private medical offices to practice filling out and printing before the transition timeline. The NUCC timeline aligns with the timeline released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Starting January 6, 2014, payers can begin to use and process paper claims that are submitted on the revised CMS 1500 Claim Form (revised 02/12). There will be a transition period running January 6 to March 31 where payers can submit and receive claims on both the revised and previous version of the CMS 1500 claim form (version 08/05.)
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Private practice medical offices and all payers have until April 1, 2014, to transition to exclusive use of the revised CMS 1500 form. After this date, the dual use period of submitting both forms will end and claims can only be submitted through the revised form.
The released CMS 1500 Claim Form 02/12 will replace the 08/05 version of the form. The most significant change on the form is the support of the new ICD-10 diagnosis codes.
Specifically on the form, box 21 requires users to state whether they are using ICD-9 or ICD-10 diagnoses codes. Eight more diagnosis codes have been added to the 02/12 version of the form. Some other minor revisions include removal of the decimal on the diagnosis lines, diagnosis numbering, the arrow pointing to box 24E. The instructions on the form have changed to instruct “relate A-L to service line below (24E).”
Other claim form changes provide ease of completion for medical office administrators and private practices. Some information boxes have been deleted, some have been changed and some wording was revised on the form’s header, footer and back sections of the form. A QR code was also added to the top left of the form to link to the NUCC informational page form and to align the form for the reader.
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Even though health plans and clearinghouses are required to accept both the 02/12 and 8/05 versions of the form until April 1, 2014, it is advised that medical offices begin the transition to the new form now to get accustomed to the form changes and diagnosis codes.
Stephanie Thomas writes on behalf of Just CMS 1500 forms, a resource for affordable CMS 1500 forms for health care offices.
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