Anesthesia Coding Alert
Billing for A-Line
Florida Subscriber
Answer: CMS and the AMA agree that anesthesia time does not include unusual forms of monitoring; those forms include A-line, central venous pressure and Swan-Ganz line placement. These procedures are billed as separate surgical services, so in your case an A-line would be billed with 36620 (Arterial catheterization or cannulation for sampling, monitoring or transfusion [separate procedure]; percutaneous). However, some carriers include these procedures in the anesthesia and will not pay separately, so verify coverage with your carrier before filing.
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