Anesthesia Coding Alert

Question: Should I report modifiers LT and/or RT when coding anesthesia for cataract surgery?

South Carolina Subscriber

Answer: The answer depends partly on your payer and partly on the procedure timeframes.

Some workers' compensation carriers, for example, require modifiers LT (Left side) and RT (Right side) on all cataract claims. Coders might include the modifiers with their claims to other payers to be one step ahead of the likely request for documentation.

Why it helps: If the physician treats the second cataract during the first cataract's global period, the payer might deny your claim as a duplicate. Implementing a policy of always including modifier LT or RT might help keep you from battling future denials.