Primary Care Coding Alert
Reader Question:
Marcaine Coding
Published on Thu Jun 01, 2000
Question: What J code should we assign to indicate the use of Marcaine, 0.5 solution?
Allan Spotts
MHS-Primary Care, Middletown, Conn.
Answer: You may assign one of two codes for this drug either HCPCS code J2000 (injection, lidocaine HCl, 50 cc) or J3490 (unclassified drugs). In either instance you can expect that your carrier will deny the charge if the Marcaine is used to provide anesthetic effect during a surgical procedure, including injection into a joint. The injection of anesthetic is considered bundled into the procedure. For this reason, most practices do not bill for this drug.
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