Electronic Solutions

HIPAA Information

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) mandates the standardization of EDI formats for health care data transmission, which includes claims, remittance, eligibility and claim status inquiries. HIPAA regulations replace the CMS 1500 and UB04 Claims formats with ASC X12N 837 Transactions.

The Blue Cross NC Companion Guide is available to assist trading partners in understanding Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC) code and situation handling used in processing the ANSI ASC X12N Transactions. In October, 2010, two different versions of the Companion Guide will be available: one for x12 version 4010 and one for x12 version 5010.

ICD-10 Information

On October 1, 2015, the healthcare industry in the United States will begin using the ICD-10 code set when submitting claims. The current ICD-9 code set has no more room for growth and will be retired. This change will affect institutional and professional claims.

Blue Cross NC will be ready to process the ICD-10 codes on October 1, 2015 and will not accept ICD-10 codes before the October 1, 2015 implementation date. There will be no grace period or dual use period for ICD-9 codes after October 1, 2015. The following rules will be used:

• Professional claims:
  • If the dates of service are greater than September 30, 2015, use ICD-10,
    If the dates of service are less than October 1, 2015, use ICD-9,
    If the dates of service span October 1, 2015, split the claim so that one claim covers the time before October 1, 2015 and the other claim covers the time from October 1, 2015 and later.
• Institutional claims:
  • If the discharge date is greater than September 30, 2015 use ICD-10,
    If the discharge date is less than October 1, 2015, use ICD-9.

Business Impact:

• Providers not using the appropriate ICD-10 code after the October 1, 2015 implementation date will experience major business disruptions including claims payment issues. Providers still using the HIPAA 4010 version for their claims will have a rather difficult time since the 4010 version does not support using ICD-10 codes.

ICD-10 Testing:

• Blue Cross NC is not requiring testing for the ICD-10 codes. However, Blue Cross NC will have RampManager set up to facilitate ICD-10 testing for those EDI trading partners who wish to test. RampManager testing will be for HIPAA X12 syntax and structure only. It will not provide any end to end testing. RampManager is set up so that the ICD-10 cut over date is 10/1/14.

If you have any questions, please contact Guy Ferrari at (919) 765-7092 or Guy.Ferrari@bcbsnc.com.