Anesthesia Coding Alert
2-Day Cases Might Need 2-Line Claims
Question: How should I report multiple line items for an anesthesia case that spans two days? Several of our carriers are requesting that we break down our charges by day when the service goes past midnight. How do I report the base units correctly?
Rhode Island Subscriber
Answer: The correct way to code these claims depends on your carrier and your group's policy for reporting minutes.
If you report cases based on total minutes rather than start and stop times, report the case on one line. Include the anesthesia report to show why the anesthesiologist's time begins on one day and the surgeon's bill shows the next day's date.
If you submit claims with start and stop times, you will need multiple lines. Enter the time spent on the case before midnight on line one with the procedure's code and base units. Enter the time after midnight on line two, but don't report the base units. If your billing system automatically enters the base units according to the code, change the base units on line two to zero.
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