Anesthesia Coding Alert

Question: One of my physicians believes we can be separately reimbursed for the service CO2 monitoring or capnography (a.k.a. end tidal gases analysis). He believes there is a code that can be billed. The only literature Ive found suggests this is actually being bundled into the anesthesia services. Am I missing something? Is it payable separately from the anesthesia charges?

Arizona Subscriber

Answer: You are correct that these services are bundled in with the base unit value and should not be billed separately. (See page xii of the Relative Value Guide).Take note: If Highmark is a carrier for your group, your physician may be referring to a Policy Review & News (PRN) published in October 2004 that allowed separate payment. The ASA, however, doesnt support unbundling these services.

--  Answers to You Be the Coder and Reader Questions were provided by Scott Groudine,MD, an Albany, N.Y., anesthesiologist; Marvel J. Hammer, RN, CPC, CCS-P, ACS-PM,CHCO, owner of MJH Consulting in Denver; and Kelly Dennis, MBA, CPC, ACS-AP, with Perfect Office Solutions of Leesburg, Fla.