# 99211 bill the patient?



## NIEVESM (Sep 3, 2010)

Hello everyone,
This patient insisted to come to the office to get her blood pressure check,  the Dr. try to explained the patient that if she only come for a bp check this was going to be a unnecesary office visit charge (co-pay) because patient had an appoitment already set to see her. Because patient insisted Dr. took the patient pressure, however on the Dr. notes she did not documented enough to bill a 99211 to Medicare. Dr. is furious and is asking me if we can bill the patient. Should I bill the patient or not?

Thanks to all for your response on advance!


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## cheermom68 (Sep 3, 2010)

*99211*

No, you cannot bill the patient.  I am curious why they just didn't have the nurse do a courtesy blood pressure???

LeeAnn


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## NIEVESM (Sep 3, 2010)

LeeAnn I totally agree with you I ask myself the same question, 
thanks for your reply


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## bhaskins1 (Sep 17, 2010)

Just curious... what did the Doctor document... 99211 is typically a 5 min visit... even if you code based on time and he spent 5 minutes with the patient and more than 2.5 minutes talking to her about her blood pressure then you should be justified in billing ins.  Granted I work in pediatrics so we do not bill medicare so I cannot speak to their guidelines but from a strictly coding view that would be my opinion.


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## Peter Davidyock (Sep 19, 2010)

NIEVESM said:


> Hello everyone,
> This patient insisted to come to the office to get her blood pressure check,  the Dr. try to explained the patient that if she only come for a bp check this was going to be a unnecesary office visit charge (co-pay) because patient had an appoitment already set to see her. Because patient insisted Dr. took the patient pressure, however on the Dr. notes she did not documented enough to bill a 99211 to Medicare. Dr. is furious and is asking me if we can bill the patient. Should I bill the patient or not?
> 
> Thanks to all for your response on advance!



Wow....how long have you worked for this Dr.?
You can bill it of course but more than likely mcare is going to have a problem with her next visit. Especially if it's within a few days.
Maybe you should advise the the Dr. about frequency of visits and discuss what she would rather be pd for.
I think most would rather have the $ for a 13 or a 14 rather than a 11.


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## Lisa Bledsoe (Sep 20, 2010)

NIEVESM said:


> Hello everyone,
> This patient insisted to come to the office to get her blood pressure check,  the Dr. try to explained the patient that if she only come for a bp check this was going to be a unnecesary office visit charge (co-pay) because patient had an appoitment already set to see her. Because patient insisted Dr. took the patient pressure, however on the Dr. notes she did not documented enough to bill a 99211 to Medicare. Dr. is furious and is asking me if we can bill the patient. Should I bill the patient or not?
> 
> Thanks to all for your response on advance!



First of all, why did the patient see the doctor and not the nurse?  If the physician felt it to be a medically unnecessary visit, she should have just had her see the nurse.  Physicians should not code 99211.
Second, unless you have an ABN for that visit you cannot bill Medicare OR the patient.


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## FTessaBartels (Oct 1, 2010)

*99211*

Are you sure that the documentation does not meet the standards for 99211?  The only documentation requirement for a 99211 is a chief complaint.  In this case, "F/U HTN" would be sufficient.

While a 99211 visit doesn't usually require the services of an MD, it is perfectly acceptable for an MD to use this E/M code.  

And, no, if there is not sufficient documentation to bill Medicare (or any other carrier), then you cannot just bill the patient. 

Hope that helps.

F Tessa Bartels, CPC, CEMC


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