Wiki Bilateral Ultrasound

[mmmcgm@gmail.com]

We are Breast Specialist. Does anyone bill out bilateral ultrasounds with 50 modifier or split and do LT / RT modifier?

 

[csperoni]

While I do not bill specifically for breast ultrasounds, I will offer advice in general regarding -50 vs -LT/-RT.
From my experience, this is a payor driven preference. Assuming the code used is appropriate to bill bilateral, I use -50 whenever possible. It is what my MAC has advised as well. I do know of at least 1 specific carrier that does not recognize -50. They require 2 lines, one with -LT & one with -RT. Once you know who those carriers are, you should be able to build an edit into your billing system to flag if you're using -50 to a carrier that does not accept it.