Coding Corner:
Proactively Avoid Denials By Knowing the CCI Edits
Published on Mon Jan 19, 2009
Knowing when you can append a modifier is your key to success The start of a new year means the potential for denials by the dozen, thanks to new codes and new code bundles. With more than 500,000 changes to the Correct Coding Initiative (CCI) that took effect on Jan. 1, this year is no exception. Take a look at the basics of what you need to know to avoid the denials that incorrectly billing bundled codes can bring. Start With the E/M Codes Medicare carriers and other payers that follow CCI edits will now bundle most of the E/M codes (99201-99215) into the new brachytherapy codes (77785-77787), and no modifier can separate these bundles. "Most of the other brachytherapy codes include an E/M service according to CCI, so although it would have been nice not to have this new code bundled with E/M, it was expected," says Ali Johns [...]
