Anesthesia Coding Alert
New Code for Abortion Anesthesia
Question: Does the new code 01964 (Anesthesia for; abortion procedures) apply to procedures for "missed abortions"? When a surgeon performs a dilation and evacuation, I have always reported the anesthesia with 00940 (Anesthesia for vaginal procedures [including biopsy of labia, vagina, cervix or endometrium]; not otherwise specified). Will this change?
Montana Subscriber
Answer: An abortion procedure includes elective termination, incomplete and missed abortions. So, anesthesia code 01964 applies to any abortion-related surgical codes (59812-59841). New codes are often added for statistical reporting and to help ensure better coding and billing. Code 01964 more accurately describes the procedure than 00940, which groups all vaginal procedures together.
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