Part B Insider (Multispecialty) Coding Alert
CMS Adds 5 New Codes Effective July 1, Changes Bilateral Status
Check out these changes to the 2009 Medicare Physician Fee Schedules mid-year update. Youll have five new codes to report for your services in just a few short weeks, thanks to an update to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule that takes effect on July 1. The following four new procedure codes carry the status of C,meaning that individual carriers will establish payment amounts: " 0199T -- Physiologic recording of tremor using accelerometer(s) and gyroscope(s), ... including interpretation and report " 0200T -- Percutaneous sacral augmentation (sacroplasty), unilateral injection(s), including the use of a balloon or mechanical device (if utilized), one or more needles " 0201T -- Percutaneous sacral augmentation (sacroplasty), bilateral injections, including the use of a balloon or mechanical device (if utilized),two or more needles " 0202T -- Posterior vertebral joint(s) arthroplasty (e.g., facet joint[s] replacement) including facetectomy, laminectomy, foraminotomy and vertebral column fixation, with or without injection of bone cement,including fluoroscopy, single level, lumbar spine. It will be interesting to see how carriers price the sacroplasty codes, since many were not paying for this service with the unlisted code 22899 (Unlisted procedure, spine), says Mary Rice, a Memphis, TN-based coding and practice management consultant. New code 90670 (Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, 13 valent, for intramuscular use) has a status of X, which means physicians cannot bill for it. Bilateral changes: CMS also changes several bilateral status indicators, retroactive back to Jan. 1. For example, code 50593 (Ablation, renal tumor[s], unilateral, percutaneous,cryotherapy) was previously not billable bilaterally, but it now has a bilateral status indicator of 1, meaning you can report it bilaterally for services that took place on or after Jan 1, 2009. To read additional fee schedule updates, visit www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/MM6484.pdf.
Part B Insider (Multispecialty) Coding Alert
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