Anesthesia Coding Alert

Version 11.1 bundles G0354 into all anesthesia procedures

If your anesthesia professionals routinely administer additional IV medications during procedures, double-check your charges before billing the case. The bulk of anesthesia-related National Correct Coding Initiative (NCCI) edits in version 11.1 deal with sequential IV pushes in relation to anesthesia.

Nonmutually Exclusive Edits Address G0354

Nonmutually exclusive edits pair codes for two services that physicians often perform during the same session. NCCI lists one code as the comprehensive procedure, meaning it's the more global service. The second code of the pair is a component of the first, which means you cannot charge for both services.

NCCI version 11.1, effective April 1, lists G0354 (Each additional sequential intravenous push [list separately in addition to code for primary procedure]) as a component of all anesthesia procedures.

The edits also assign a status indicator of "0" to the pairs. This means you cannot use a modifier to report the services separately.

Occasionally coders think some NCCI edits don't make sense, but they understand the need for this one. "Including G0345 with the anesthesia codes sounds right," says Barbara Johnson, CPC, MPC, president of Real Code Inc., in Moreno Valley, Calif.

NCCI version 11.1 went into effect April 1. To see a complete list of edits, visit CMS' Web site at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/physicians/cciedits/default.asp.