ICD-10 Delay Doesn't Come Without Worries

Even with the delay, Aetna will maintain its current momentum in its ICD-10 work, according to Stacie Watson, who heads the insurer's ICD-10 program management office. That work includes remediation of impacted systems and vendor tools, as well as affected business processes and policies.

Aetna "will be fully ready to process ICD-10 claims by Oct. 1, 2014, with a strong commitment to begin testing in 2013 with those entities that are also ready," Watson said in an e-mail exchange with HealthLeadersMedia.

Desrochers says the ICD-10 delay provides health insurers with the opportunity to take  transformational steps to get ready for the new business models, which will include  value-based purchasing and accountable care organizations.

ICD-10 will provide more precision and information related to diagnoses and procedures that will help providers and insurers "make better determinations around what works and what doesn't," he says.