ICD-10 Is Gonna Cost Me How Much?

The survey suggests there's confusion about the cost of converting to ICD-10. Of those organizations that have completed the financial assessment, 32% expect to spend up to $1 million to prepare, while just 9% estimated a cost between $1.1 million and $5 million. Only 1% of respondents project an implementation cost between $5 million and $10 million. More than half either were uncertain about an estimate or had not completed one.

Those numbers "seem a little light," John Dragovits, CFO for Dallas-based Parkland Health and Hospital System, says in the report. Most organizations will fall into the $1.1 million–$5 million category, he predicts, while the cost to larger organizations such as his 720-bed system could exceed $5 million.

Regardless of where respondents were in the ICD-10 process, many said they expect to take a substantial revenue hit.

Of the 46% of respondents who expect revenue losses associated with ICD-10 implementation, 28% anticipate revenue loss between 6% and 10%, with another 12% expecting revenue losses at between 11%–20%. Nearly a quarter (23%) of respondents expect those losses to last one to two years, another 6% think it will be more than two years, and 7% expect the losses to become permanent.