Question: How can I find the code for a new drug, such as Orencia?
Texas Subscriber Answer: When a specific code doesn't exist for a drug, you should check your payer's preferences. If your payer doesn't offer guidance, you should use an unclassified code and may find recommendations from the drug manufacturer. Example: For Orencia, the manufacturer suggests J3590 (Unclassified biologics) in its coding guide on the Web at
www.orencia.com/Splash/Includes/53BSA008B_CodingBilling-WEB.pdf.
Good news: You may see a specific code for Orencia in January 2007.