monica, basil, thank you both. more problems could be on the way for our nation s health care providers. there is a new medical coding system set to go into effect this fall but some worry it could make it much more difficult for patients to see their doctors and could even push some doctors out of business. garrett tenney has details from chicago. good to see you. what is this new billing system about and why should patients be concerned about it? reporter: yeah, uma, the new system is icd-10. this is a set of codes used by doctors to track what ailments you have and used by insurers to determine how much they will pay for specific treatment. this new system, it is very precisely coded. it has more than 68,000 codes for very specific diagnosis. for example, if someone gets burned by flaming water skis there is a code for precisely that. this current system, icd-9, has only 14,000 codes.
many others believe icd-10 will help improve medical care. initially doctors have the cost of new equipment, software, training. the biggest concern though is the major billing disruptions are expected to come when it is first rolled out. many doctors, at least initially likely don t be fully paid by insurers for as much as six months. those pushing for the updated system though, they say those concerns are overexaggerated and this change is long overdue. icd-9 is over 30 years old and we make the statement, that you wouldn t continue to use medical equipment that s 30 years old. it s outdated. same thing happened to our code set. reporter: several members of congress have introduced bills aimed at preventing icd-10 from being implemented. so far those have not gained any traction. uma? lots of changes on the way. thank you very much. reporter: certainly. jon: talk about needing doctors,