You Be the Coder:
Hospice Care
Published on Mon Oct 01, 2001
Test your coding knowledge. Determine how you would code this situation before looking at the box below for the answer.
Question: How should I bill for hospice care? The doctors give us hospital charges, but Medicare denies payment stating that the service is hospice care and has to be billed as such. We have never billed for this in our practice. What codes are used for this type of billing?
Michigan Subscriber
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Answer: If your patients are in a hospice, you may bill these services using inpatient codes 99231-99233 with place of service hospice (34). When you file the claim, Medicare will request a letter asking if your physician is employed by hospice. If your answer is no, you will get paid. If your physician is employed by the hospice, you may not bill for these services.
If your hospice patient is in a private home, use the home visit codes 99341-99350. | |
