Part B Insider (Multispecialty) Coding Alert

Doctors can say goodbye to local medical review policies and hello to local coverage determinations. Starting last month, contractors began issuing LCDs instead of LMRPs, and launched the two-year process of converting existing LMRPs to LCDs and related articles, according to a notice on Part B Carrier Cahaba GBA's Web site.
 
The main difference between the two formats is "that LCDs consist only of 'reasonable and necessary' information, while LMRPs may also contain category or statutory provisions," Cahaba states. "Any nonreasonable and necessary language a contractor wishes to communicate to providers must be done through an article," the carrier explains.