Question: Do we bill anesthesia separately for an emergency endotracheal intubation procedure?
Maryland Subscriber
Answer: No, you do not bill anesthesia separately. Emergency endotracheal intubation is a flat-fee service. You should report 31500 (Intubation, endotracheal, emergency procedure) without an anesthesia code.
Note: CPT® Assistant (Dec. 2009) confirms, “Moderate sedation may be reported in addition to the endotracheal intubation procedure, provided the criteria for reporting the codes 99143-99150 are met.” If you have documentation supporting moderate sedation that meets the specified criteria, you can submit that code with 31500.