ED Coding and Reimbursement Alert
Look to U0001 for Coronavirus Testing
Question: A patient presented to our ED with what seemed to be a cold, but she had recently traveled from South Korea, so the physician decided to administer a coronavirus test. Which code should we report for this panel? Is there an unlisted code for it? California Subscriber Answer: CMS developed a new HCPCS code for providers and laboratories to test patients for SARS-CoV-2, also known as the coronavirus. Providers testing patients with the CDC’s “2019 Novel Coronavirus Real Time RT-PCR Diagnostic Test Panel may bill for that test using the newly created HCPCS code (U0001),” CMS advises. This will also allow the feds to track possible cases and circumvent the spread of the disease, the release suggests. Therefore, you should look to this HCPCS code to describe the test used on the patient.
ED Coding and Reimbursement Alert
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Look to U0001 for Coronavirus Testing
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