Coverage:
Acupuncture Gains Codes, But Questions Persist
Published on Sun Nov 21, 2004
Medicare has always refused to pay for acupuncture (97780-97781) but CPT 2005 deletes those codes and replaces them with two new codes for acupuncture with electrical stimulation. The new codes specify an initial 15 minutes of one-on-one contact with the patient (97813) and each additional 15 minutes (97814). The new focus on face-to-face patient care could signal a change in policy - although many providers are taking a "wait and see" approach.