Anesthesia Coding Alert

Question: While trying to bill anesthesia during a tubal ligation with 00851 and diagnosis Z30.2, our billing software said that they do not go together. We checked in Codify but found no anesthesia codes for Z30.2. What are we missing?

Texas Subscriber

Answer: You can bill diagnosis Z30.2 (Encounter for sterilization) with 00851 (Anesthesia for intraperitoneal procedures in lower abdomen including laparoscopy; tubal ligation/transaction).

For your reference: There are ICD-10 crosswalk codes for every CPT^® code. Some procedures have such an extensive list of associated ICD-10 codes that they are not all mentioned through references such as Codify. Use your best judgment based on your provider’s documentation.

Remember: If you’re reporting services provided before Oct. 1, 2015, you’ll still submit an ICD-9 code for the diagnosis, such as V25.2 (Encounter for sterilization).