Part B Insider (Multispecialty) Coding Alert
CCI Bundles Moderate Sedation Into Scores of Surgery Codes
Plus: The new version of CCI also swaps several code pairs
As of Oct. 1, you'll find moderate sedation codes 99148-99149 bundled into hundreds of other surgical and procedure codes from various specialties, but a modifier can separate these bundles.
Other new edits: You'll also find deep implant removal code 20680 now bundled into 15 other orthopedic surgery codes, including radius/ulna fracture repair codes 25400-25420 and tibia/fibula repair codes 27720-27726. You can use a modifier to separate these edits.
Plus, scrotal exploration code 55110 now bundles into nearly 30 other codes, including orchiectomy codes 54522-54535, and testicular repair codes 54600-54692. No modifier can separate these edits.
CCI also takes aim at facial nerve injection code 64402, which now bundles into over 150 eye surgery codes, including 67005-67112. A modifier will separate these edits when medically necessary.
Look Out For Swapped Pairs
In addition to adding new edit pairs, CCI also "swaps" several, which means that the previous column 1 code has moved to column 2, and vice versa.
For example: Patellar arthroplasty codes 27437 and 27438 now bundle into knee arthroplasty code 27446, whereas previously the bundle was the other way around. "Thank goodness for this," says Jay Neal, a consultant in Atlanta. "It should have been the other way around from the get-go."
Ophthalmology: Similarly, vitrectomy code 67043 now bundles into retinal detachment repair code 67113, whereas the bundling used to be reversed.
Imaging: Fluoroscopic guidance code 76000 now bundles into guidance code 77002, although CCI used to publish the bundle in the reverse.
CCI Offers A Few Deletions
Fortunately, this round of CCI wasn't all bad news. You'll find the following bundles deleted as of Oct. 1:
• 67040 (Vitrectomy with endolaser panretinal photocoagulation) with 67039 (...with focal endolaser photocoagulation).
• Trigeminal nerve injection code 64400 with 66982 (Cataract removal), 66984 (Cataract re-moval), and 67113 (Retinal detachment repair).
• Greater occipital nerve injection code 64405 with 67113 (Retinal detachment repair).
Part B Insider (Multispecialty) Coding Alert
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