Neurology & Pain Management Coding Alert

5-Point Checklist Will Get You Paid When Using Modifier -22

If you're submitting claims for unusual procedural services without first determining how you're going to defend them, payers will probably reject your claim - unless you use this defense crafted by coding experts.
 
"The careful and proper usage of modifier -22 (Unusual procedural services) can be an invaluable tool in obtaining additional reimbursement for surgical services," says Arlene Morrow, CPC, CMM, CMSCS, a coding specialist and consultant with AM Associates in Tampa, Fla. But coders, beware: Overusing this modifier may be a red flag to carriers monitoring claims coded to obtain improper payment, she says.
 
CPT guidelines indicate that "when the service(s) provided is greater than that usually required for the listed procedure, it may be identified by adding modifier '-22' to the usual procedure code." And convincing the carrier that a procedure was "greater than that usually required" is crucial for claims with modifier -22 because, when approved, these claims will yield additional reimbursement - in many cases an additional 20 to 25 percent more than their standard payment.
 
Morrow recommends developing "written policies and procedures for consistent coding and documentation application" as your standard plan of attack when submitting claims with modifier -22. Be sure your plan contains these five elements:

1. Develop an 'Unusual' Argument

CPT designed modifiers to show the extra physician work involved in performing a procedure because of extenuating circumstances present in a patient encounter. Modifier -22 represents those extenuating circumstances that don't merit using an additional or alternative CPT code, but instead raise the reimbursement for a given procedure, says Cheryl A. Schad, BA, CPCM, CPC, owner of Schad Medical Management in Mullica, N.J.
 
For example, suppose a pediatric patient presents for a prolonged electromyogram (EMG) service. Although the relevant codes describe the various locations for the procedure, they don't take into account the special circumstances and complexity of providing this service for a very young patient. Consequently, many practices bill the global code (for example, 95860, Needle electromyography; one extremity with or without related paraspinal areas) with modifier -22.
 
Most carriers - including Medicare - maintain that unusual procedural cases can result from the following circumstances outlined by The Regence Group, a Blue Cross Blue Shield association:

 

  •  excessive blood loss for the particular procedure
     
  •  presence of an excessively large surgical specimen (especially in abdominal surgery)
     
  •  trauma extensive enough to complicate the particular procedure and not billed as additional procedure codes
     
  •  other pathologies, tumors, malformations (genetic, traumatic, surgical) that directly interfere with the procedure but are not billed separately
     
  •  services rendered that are significantly more complex than described for the CPT code in question.

    Other circumstances that may merit using modifier -22 include morbid obesity, low birth weight, conversion of a procedure from laparoscopic to open, and significant scarring or adhesions, experts say.

    2. Document the Evidence ...

    "The key to collecting additional reimbursement for unusual services is all in the documentation," Schad says.
     
    Sometimes a physician will tell you to append modifier -22 to a procedure because he did "x, y and z," she says, but when you look at the documentation, the support isn't there.
     
    The documentation is your chance to demonstrate the special circumstances, such as extra time or highly complex trauma, that warrant modifier -22, Morrow says.
     
    For example, if a neurologist spends an inordinate amount of time performing a facet joint injection into the cervical spine and he documents how much additional time he spent on the procedure, you can append modifier -22 to the injection code to indicate its complexity, according to the AMA's Principles of CPT Coding manual.
     
    For every claim with modifier -22, you should submit both a paper claim and the operative report, Schad instructs coders. The operative report should clearly identify additional diagnoses, pre-existing conditions or any unexpected findings or complicating factors that contributed to the extra time and effort spent performing the procedure, Morrow says.
     
    Morrow recommends that every operative note have a separate section - such as a "Special Circumstances" section - in which the physician must indicate when a procedure is significantly more difficult than anticipated.
     
    The hitch: There's a good chance that the person employed by the insurance carrier to review your claim is not a medical professional. So you have to translate what went on in the examining room into quantifiable terms, Schad says. Getting paid for modifier -22 "is very subjective, and it depends on the utilization reviewer or the claims reviewer," Schad says.

    3. ... in Payer Lingo

    Your operative report does not have to cater to the carrier receiving the claim, but an additional note from the physician to the insurance carrier should.
     
    Some carriers have specific forms for the physician to fill out and send with claims using modifier -22. Georgia Medicare provides practices with a "Modifier -22 Explanation Form" to "help in reviewing your claim."
     
    The form asks for the patient's name, HIC number, date of care, length of care (examination and treatment time), unusual circumstances during the procedure that may warrant additional reimbursement, a copy of the medical report, and the physician's signature, dated, with the printed name below.
     
    If your carrier does not have a form specifically for modifier -22 claims, you may want to follow the recommendation published in the June 2000 Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons (ACOS): Include a statement separate from the operative report that is written by the physician and explains the unusual amount of work in layman's terms.
     
    According to the bulletin, the separate report should state the patient's name, health insurance identification number, the procedure date, the requested percent increase for the procedure fee, and the circumstances behind the request to justify the percentage increase above the customary fee. You should also use two or three paragraphs to justify why the procedure was unusual, using "simple medical explanations and terminology, realizing that the letter will (hopefully) be read by a nurse or other reviewer."
     
    Also include the typical average circumstances or time for completion and compare it to the actual circumstances. Schad recommends that you send two operative reports: one for the unusual procedure, and another for the same procedure that would not be considered unusual. The reviewer can then compare a typical EMG, for example, to the one you are trying to have paid.
     
    The ACOS recommends closing the note by referring the reviewer to the medical report and including the physician's contact information.
     
    You should refer to these factors when conveying unusual procedural services to a non-medical professional:

     

  •  Time: Time is quantifiable, making it easy for a    carrier to convert into additional reimbursement. For   example, statements such as "50 percent more time    than usual was required to perform the EMG because   of the patient's age, making the total procedure 45    minutes instead of 20 minutes" can be very effective.
     
  •  Blood loss: Document the quantity of blood lost    during the procedure and compare it to what is    typically lost during the same type of procedure. For   example, include statements such as "1,000 ccs of    blood, rather than the standard 100 ccs of blood, were   lost during the procedure."
     
  •  Special instruments: Compare the instruments/    equipment used to perform the procedure to those    typically used.
     
  •  Technique: Clearly indicate when there has been a   change in technique during the procedure and, more   important, why there was a change in technique.

    4. Request Additional Reimbursement and Wait

    Although you may not receive what you request, "It is very important to increase your fee commensurate with the extra work value" when submitting claims with modifier -22, Morrow says.
     
    Ask for an additional percentage. For example, if the usual practice fee is $1,000 and you decide the fee should be increased by 30 percent, ask for $1,300, Morrow says. "Some practices prefer to request an additional fixed dollar amount, for example $300 in the prior example." In fact, "many practices have negotiated into their managed-care contracts a fixed percentage for additional reimbursement," Morrow adds. For instance, modifier -22 might be pegged a 40 percent fee increase when submitted and approved for complicated trauma cases.
     
    Insurance companies inevitably take longer to process paper claims than electronic ones. And getting claims for modifier -22 approved can be especially laborious, Schad says.
     
    The bottom line: "Don't bother to submit a claim for modifier -22 if you don't have the documentation - you're wasting your time and spinning your wheels because you're not going to get paid," Schad says.

    5. Check Your List of Do's and Don'ts

    Run through your quick list of do's and don'ts before submitting your claim:

    Do include a copy of the operative report with your claim

    Do check your carrier's local medical review policies before submitting a claim for modifier -22 -   not all private payers honor this modifier

    Do use critical care codes instead of modifier -22 when appropriate

    Do be sure at least 25 percent more time/effort than usual was required to perform the procedure

    Do append modifier -22 to assistant-at-surgery procedures

    Don't append modifier -22 to secondary procedure codes

    Don't use modifier -22 for re-operations or E/M  visits

    Don't assume lysis of average adhesions merits using modifier -22

    Don't report modifier -22 simply because the physician performs a procedure via a lesser-preferred approach

    Don't substitute an unlisted-procedure code instead of modifier -22 to avoid carrier denials.

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