Anesthesia Coding Alert

Question: What guidelines should I follow when reporting 99100 for extreme age?


Nevada Subscriber

Answer: You should use +99100 (Anesthesia for patient of extreme age, younger than 1 year and older than 70 [list separately in addition to code for primary anesthesia procedure]) only in certain age-related situations. Report it along with the anesthesia procedure code when your physician works with an infant or an adult older than 70 years of age.

Coders sometimes debate what "older than 70" means; your best rule of thumb is to report 99100 for patients who are 71 years of age or older, not patients in the year following their 70th birthday.