Orthopedic Coding Alert

Question: Our surgeon performed subsequent hospital care over the course of four days, so we listed a date range on our claim, but Medicare denied the claim. Why is the date range not appropriate?

New York Subscriber

Answer: Although most Medicare carriers accepted date ranges in the past, you can no longer list date ranges on your CMS-1500 form. 

According to CMS Change Request 3337, effective Oct. 1, Medicare will not accept date ranges. Therefore, if your surgeon performs subsequent hospital care four days in a row, you should bill 99232 (Subsequent hospital care, per day, for the evaluation and management of a patient ...) on four separate claim lines with the separate dates listed.

Visit the CMS Web site at
www.cms.hhs.gov/medlearn/matters/mmarticles/2004/MM3337.pdf to see the full change request