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Cardiology Coding Alert

Red Alert:

Expect EP Study + Ablation Denials Until April 1

Published on Wed Jan 27, 2010

CMS won't fix CCI blunder until version 16.1, to be released in the spring. If your heart skipped a beat when you saw that January's Correct Coding Initiative (CCI) edits bundled catheter ablations with electrophysiology (EP) studies, you weren't alone. Good news: CMS has decided to delete the edits retroactively because their addition was a mistake, according to the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) (www.hrsonline.org/Policy/CodingReimbursement/coding/1-10_ncci_edits_update.cfm). Snag: The deletion won't happen until April 1. Here's what you need to know. Get a Grip on the New EP Edits CCI version 16.0, effective Jan. 1, added edits preventing you from receiving payment for recording, pacing, and EP studies performed on the same date of service as an intracardiac catheter ablation procedure. The edits have a modifier indicator of "0" -- meaning you cannot override the edits. The edits are as follows (see chart on page 3 for code definitions): 93650: CCI version 16.0 [...]
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