Otolaryngology Coding Alert

Question: My practice has purchased a rotary chair and will start billing 92546 (Sinusoidal vertical axis rotational testing). Sometimes the patient receives testing in more than one position. Can I bill the code per position?

Ohio Subscriber

Answer: The national Medicare standard for rotary chair services (92546) is one unit, but the rule in quantity of different U.S. states varies. Do not worry about violating any federal rule, because you won't find one that requires your carrier to cover more than unit of 92546. If you filed a claim with Medicare and the third-party insurer pays you for only one unit, you cannot balance-bill the patient if your contract prohibits it.

Good news: Many insurers follow Medicare's lead, so you can always tell a reluctant payer that Medicare does cover 92546.

While this code was intended for computerized rotational chair testing, some practitioners also use it for active head rotation (AHR) testing, although it is not clear whether this practice is allowed. The AMA, however, does not feel that AHR testing justifies a separate code.