CPT® 2012:
Start -- Or Rather, Keep -- Applying New Preventive Services Modifier 33
Published on Sun Jan 16, 2011
Watch for payer specific rules for using the modifier. You may be cheering the addition of a new preventive services modifier in CPT Codes 2012, but once you read the fine print, the "new" modifier may reflect "old" news. Tackle Preventive Services With Modifier 33You'll see modifier 33 (Preventive services) printed in your CPT Manual 2012. It went into effect Jan. 1, 2011 but didn't make the deadline to get into the 2011 manuals. Therefore, the code makes its first appearance in CPT® 2012, even though you may have already reported it.This modifier allows you to tell your payer that you performed a preventive service and that the patient's deductible and coinsurance do not apply under the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) rules. Downside: Unfortunately, you're not likely to get any love from your MACs with this new modifier. According to a Q&A on WPS Medicare's Web [...]