Pulmonology Coding Alert

These modifier tips tell you how to ratchet up reimbursement. With frigid temperatures expected to hold steady through a bleak winter, respiratory complaints are sure to be on the rise in your office. Now is the ideal time to review Medicare's Multiple-Endoscopy Payment Rule when coding for bronchoscopies to ensure speedy processing. Disentangle Fees for Multiple Bronchoscopies What you need to know: When your pulmonologist performs multiple bronchoscopies, Medicare reimburses 100 percent for the highest-valued procedure. Then, you get paid for each remaining procedure at the allowable rate minus the base rate for a diagnostic bronchoscopy: 31622 (Bronchoscopy, rigid or flexible, with or without fluoroscopic guidance; diagnostic, with or without cell washing [separate procedure]). Payers deduct the base rate from each bronchoscopy code reported after the first because the base bronchoscopy value is included in the payment for the highest-valued procedure. And since the base payment is "built in" to [...]