# Pathology affecting asc billing



## Spaul (Jul 24, 2009)

The billing company we use is telling me that if a surgeons removes a lesion and sends it for pathology but the pathology report comes back stating "No disscrete lesion is identified" the ASC cannot bill for the excision of the lesion. Is this correct?  Thank you.


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## tomtom2 (Jul 27, 2009)

I would hope not, as I do pathology coding and we receive countless specimens that are normal tissue. There is also cases where the tissue is so small that it does not survive processing. Does that mean the Dr should refund the patient because the biopsy did not survive? The pathologist after all doesn't charge for a specimen that doesn't survive.


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## mitchellde (Jul 27, 2009)

Spaul said:


> The billing company we use is telling me that if a surgeons removes a lesion and sends it for pathology but the pathology report comes back stating "No disscrete lesion is identified" the ASC cannot bill for the excision of the lesion. Is this correct?  Thank you.


Of course you can bill the excision, I use V71.1 as the first-listed and 709.8 as the secondary dx and a benign excision code... it has never been a problem.


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## Spaul (Aug 4, 2009)

Thank you for the information. I did not see why we could not bill but I needed more info before I fought with the billing company's coder. Thanks Again


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## mitchellde (Aug 4, 2009)

Tell them that just because the patient got some good news does not mean that you cannot bill for the process by which that news was derived!


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## mbort (Aug 6, 2009)

I think I would be looking for a new billing company!! I'll bet that its not a "true" CPC!!


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## mitchellde (Aug 6, 2009)

I agree!  I run into this all the time, but the billing company I worked for as a consultant did have a couple of CPCs and the things they came up with would curl your hair!  I say time to find a new service!


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