Otolaryngology Coding Alert

Question: I noticed in your last issue that you shared a typical Medicare reimbursement amount for a particular E/M code. I’m trying to figure out where you found that. Can you direct me to where to find out how much certain services pay?

New Jersey Subscriber

Answer: The Medicare Physician Fee Schedule establishes different values for codes depending on the setting/site (facility or non-facility) in which the provider performs the service or procedure. For some services, the total relative value units (RVUs) for a given procedure are the same in a facility or a non-facility setting. In some cases, however, the two totals may differ.

How it works: The facility and non-facility total RVUs are the sum of three component RVUs: physician work RVUs (to cover the cost of the provider’s “work”), practice expense RVUs (to cover the cost of supplies, equipment, etc.), and malpractice expense RVUs (to cover the cost of professional liability expenses).

Physician work RVUs and malpractice expense RVUs are the same, regardless of the setting (facility or non-facility). Practice expense RVUs may vary by site of service, however (which accounts for the difference in facility and non-facility RVU totals for a given code).

Medicare fees also vary geographically. Thus, each component RVU is multiplied by its own geographic practice cost index (GPCI) for the payment locality in which the service is rendered before the components are summed and multiplied by the dollar conversion factor that translates RVUs into fees.

Non-facility calculations: Non-facility fees apply to services provided in the office. Add together the physician work RVUs, the non-facility practice expense RVUs, and the malpractice RVUs for the total non-facility RVUs for a given code.

To then figure out the national, geographically unadjusted Medicare fee for a code, multiply the transitioned non-facility RVU total by the 2021 conversion factor. Note that private payers and other public payers may use different conversion factors for setting their fees, even if they use the same RVUs as Medicare.

Facility calculations: Similarly, add together the physician work RVUs, the facility practice expense RVUs, and the malpractice RVUs for the total facility RVUs for a given code both nationally and otherwise. Many times, the RVUs, and hence, the payment for facility and non-facility procedures, will be the same, lessening your chances of mistakes.

Alternative: You can simply look up national or local Medicare reimbursement rates for specific procedures on the Medicare website. Many individual Medicare carriers have similar online tools. Or, if you have access to an encoder such as Codify, the fee schedule along with the RVUs are found in the encoder.