Pathology/Lab Coding Alert

CMS deletes G0430 and won't pay for 80100, 80101, 80104.Forget everything you thought you knew about reporting drug screen tests to Medicare. With new, revised, and deleted codes for 2011, chances are you won't report your lab's drug testing the same way this year.Questions abound: Quick on the heels of 2010 code changes and CMS's surprising 2011 reversals, many lab coders and billers are confused.For instance: "I have been bombarded with questions regarding the terminology used with ... G0431 and 80101," says Pat Clark, BSMT(ASCP), ASCLS, healthcare consultant with Craneware, in Clarks Summit, Penn. Medicare instructed labs to use G0431 in place of 80101 (Drug screen, qualitative; single drug class method [e.g., immunoassay, enzyme assay], each drug class) in 2010 because the definitions were identical -- but they are no longer identical.Let our experts break down the problems -- and solutions -- to make sure you get all the pay you deserve for [...]