READER QUESTIONS:
Think Twice Before Using Modifier 55
Published on Mon Jan 08, 2007
Question: The patient went to the hospital in the middle of her pregnancy, delivered, and came to us for the postpartum visit. Can I bill 59430-55 for the postpartum visit?
New Jersey Subscriber
Answer: No, you should report only 59430 (Postpartum care only [separate procedure]). Modifier 55 (Postoperative management only) goes on the surgical delivery or global code. So you would have to know what the delivering physician billed in order to use it. The answers for Reader Questions and You Be the Coder were provided by Melanie Witt, RN, CPC-OGS, MA, an ob-gyn coding expert based in Guadalupita, N.M.