You might be a coding and payment geek if . . .
The arrival of the new ICD-9 manual recently reminded me that there are certain things that distinguish coding and payment geeks from otherwise "normal" people. So, for your consideration, I offer you the top 10 signs that you might be a coding and payment geek:
10. The first thing you associate with December is the arrival of the new CPT book.
9. You actually get excited when your new coding books arrive.
8. You wonder why the toy doctors bag you bought your kid doesn't include a claim form.
7. You worry your family physician is undercoding your visit.
6. You consider the Federal Register light reading.
5. You write to CMS more than to your own mom.
4. You actually understand Medicare's Sustainable Growth Rate formula.
3. You collect past issues of CPT Assistant on eBay.
2. When your family physician tells you that you have conjunctivitis, you wonder what the ICD-9 code for that is.
And the number one sign that you might be a coding and payment geek:
1. You actually understood the humor in this blog post!
Posted at 01:10PM Oct 22, 2009 by Kent Moore | Comments[0]
Getting paid for H1N1-related services
Do you know where to obtain H1N1 vaccine for your patients and how to bill payers for its administration?
Free H1N1 vaccine kits are available through your state health agencies. The Centers for Disease Control has published a list of who to contact for information on obtaining the vaccine. If you do not wish to provide the vaccine in your practice, you can use this list to determine where to refer your patients.
Most privately insured patients will have benefits for the H1N1 vaccine administration even if their health plan does not typically cover preventive services; this is due to collaboration between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and payers. Medicare allows physicians to provide and bill for both H1N1 and seasonal influenza vaccines on the same date. Medicare created a new G code for administration of the H1N1 vaccine; submit code G9141 with diagnosis code V04.81. It is not necessary to report a separate code for the vaccine itself, but if you prefer to include it in your documentation, use code G9142. If billed, this code will be denied since the vaccine is provided at no cost. For the standard seasonal influenza vaccine and administration, use codes G0008 for the administration, V04.81 for diagnosis, and the appropriate CPT code for the vaccine itself (i.e., 90655, 90656, 90657, 90658 or 90660). Medicare will not pay for an office visit if the sole purpose of the visit is vaccine administration but will if a significant, separately identifiable E/M service is provided on the same date.
Your local private payers may still be deciding on the coverage and payment for the H1N1 vaccine, but most national payers have provided some guidance. The recent creation of CPT code 90470 for H1N1 vaccine administration may cause some plans to issue revised instructions. We have requested updated guidance from national health plans and will update the AAFP resources on H1N1 with this information as we receive it. As with all services, practices should check the individual patient’s benefits when scheduling the services.
Finally, it’s important to know how to code and bill for care provided to patients who are sick with the flu. New influenza diagnosis codes took effect Oct. 1, 2009. Code 488.1 is specific to influenza due to the H1N1 virus. Code 487.1 is still valid for patients with influenza not otherwise specified and other respiratory manifestations such as pharyngitis, laryngitis or URI. Code 487.0 for reporting influenza with pneumonia is also still valid. When providing in-office testing for influenza, code 87804QW represents CLIA-waived testing for influenza by immunoassay with direct optical observation. Most rapid tests do not differentiate between Influenza A and B. However, for those that do produce two separate results, payers may accept 87804QW on one claim line and 87804QW59 on a separate claim line. As always, you should check with your individual payers for specific coverage and billing guidelines.
Posted at 02:31PM Oct 02, 2009 by Cindy Hughes | Comments[0]
Everything's up-to-date in Kansas City
Last week, I received a call from a doctor's office inquiring why her claim for a B-12 injection might have been denied by a particular payer. She indicated that they used Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code 90772 to report the service.
A quick check of my 2009 CPT book identified the problem. Code 90772 has been deleted for 2009; the correct new code is 96372.
It never ceases to amaze and amuse me when a physician's practice is not using the current versions of a CPT, Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS), or International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision - Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) manual. It does not take too many claims denied because of out-of-date codes to equal or exceed what it would have cost the practice to buy current copies of the necessary coding manuals. Indeed, the ICD-9-CM manual is available on CD-ROM from the U.S. Government Printing Office for only $19.00, and HCPCS can be accessed freely on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services web site (although I still prefer to use the manual version).
So, take a moment right now, while you're thinking about it, and pull your CPT, HCPCS, and ICD-9-CM books off the shelf. If they are not the most current versions (i.e., 2009, as I write this), then it's time to order new ones. This ounce of prevention for denied and returned claims should more than equal the pound of cure found in resubmitting or appealing such claims.
Posted at 12:09PM May 28, 2009 by Kent Moore | Comments[1]
Another urban myth about coding
Recently, I received a call from a physician who had heard from a consultant that he should code his levels of evaluation and management (E/M) services based solely on the medical decision making involved. He asked me if this was true.
As I have done with other callers asking the same question, I assured him that this was incorrect information. Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) clearly states that all of the key components (i.e., history, examination, and medical decision making) play a role in selecting a level of E/M service (unless you’re coding on the basis of time because counseling and/or coordination of care dominated the encounter). For some codes (e.g., new patient office visits), all three key components must meet or exceed the stated requirements to qualify for a particular level of E/M service. For other codes (e.g., established patient office visits), two of the three key components must meet or exceed the stated requirements to qualify for a particular level of E/M service. In no case does CPT state that medical decision making, by itself, determines the level of E/M service.
Medicare policy supports this interpretation. Section 30.6.1, “Selection of Level of Evaluation and Management Service,” of Chapter 12 of the Medicare Claims Processing Manual states, in part, “Instruct physicians to select the code for the service based upon the content of the service.” That content includes the history and examination.
This particular urban coding myth grows out of confusion between medical decision making and medical necessity. As the same section of the Medicare Claims Processing Manual says, “Medical necessity of a service is the overarching criterion for payment in addition to the individual requirements of a CPT code.” Using an extreme example, you can perform and document the history, examination and medical decision making necessary for a level-five office visit for a patient with a common cold, but there are not many people who would say that level of service was medically necessary in that circumstance. In any case, medical necessity is not the same as medical decision making, and medical necessity governs payment, while medical decision making plays but one part in selecting the level of E/M service.
So the next time someone tells you to code E/M services only on the basis of medical decision making, you might warn them about all the alligators living in the sewer system.
Posted at 04:47PM Apr 27, 2009 by Kent Moore | Comments[0]
Injection rejections
It’s annoying. You’ve submitted your claims for subcutaneous injections with code 90772 for a couple years now and all of a sudden, rejections! The code has been changed to 96372. Who's responsible for this disruption to your cash flow? It was the insurance companies, wasn’t it?
No. Insurance companies do have some influence on CPT code changes but really not that much. CPT code changes can be proposed by anyone who identifies a problem or gap in existing codes. Many originate from physician complaints made to specialty societies about payment policies that don’t align with CPT or current practices. All proposed changes are vetted and recommended for approval, modification or rejection by physician volunteers from each of the medical specialty societies that participates in the AMA's CPT process. Proposals are then approved, postponed or rejected by the AMA's 17-member CPT Editorial Panel. Most of the panel members are physicians nominated by their specialty organization and appointed by the AMA Board of Trustees. David Ellington, MD, of Lexington, Va., and the AAFP Board of Directors is a member of the panel. A handful of the panel members represent payers.
So what else has changed in CPT 2009 and how are you, a busy physician, supposed to care for your patients and your practice and keep up with all of this? You can look to Appendix M of your 2009 CPT book for a summary of the deleted codes and their replacements. Also, watch for an article in the January/February issue of FPM on the code changes most affecting family medicine. And finally, don’t hesitate to contact me (chughes@aafp.org) or join the AAFP e-mail discussion list for coding issues to find help with coding questions and keep up-to-date. (The discussion list is also open to non-members so that your coding and billing staff can take advantage of this free resource.)
Posted at 05:15PM Jan 14, 2009 by Cindy Hughes | Comments[1]
