Medicare Covers 99406, 99407

If you’ve been writing off tobacco cessation counseling as non-payable, it’s time to change your tune.

The change: In the past, you could collect for tobacco cessation counseling for a patient with a tobacco-related disease or with signs or symptoms of one. But on Aug. 25, CMS announced that “under new coverage, any smoker covered by Medicare will be able to receive tobacco cessation counseling from a qualified physician or other Medicare recognized practitioner who can work with them to help them stop using tobacco.”

“For too long, many tobacco users with Medicare coverage were denied access to evidencebased tobacco cessation counseling,” said Kathleen Sebelius, HHS secretary, in an Aug. 25 statement. “Most Medicare beneficiaries want to quit their tobacco use. Now, older adults and other Medicare beneficiaries can get the help they need to successfully overcome tobacco dependence.”

Count Attempts and Minutes

The new tobacco cessation counseling coverage expansion will apply to services under Medicare Part B and Part A. That means your physicians and coders should know how to correctly document and report the sessions.

“Medicare allows billing for two counseling attempts in a year, but each attempt can occur over multiple sessions, with four sessions per attempt,” explains Jennifer Swindle, CPC, CPC-E/M, CPC-FP, RHIT, CCP-P, director of coding and compliance for PivotHealth LLC in Brentwood, Tenn.

According to section 12 of chapter 32 of the Medicare Claims Processing Manual, “Claims for smoking and tobacco use cessation counseling services shall be submitted with an appropriate diagnosis code. Diagnosis codes should reflect: the condition the patient has that is adversely affected by tobacco use or the condition the patient is being treated for with a therapeutic agent whose metabolism or dosing is affected by tobacco use.”

Swindle says 305.1 (Tobacco use disorder) is one diagnosis supporting...

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Medical Coding: Ease Counseling Codes Acceptance With Distinct Dxs

Study frequency guidelines before you bill for counseling services.

Question: A 60-year-old established Medicare patient with a confirmed diagnosis of vanishing lung (emphysema) reports to the family physician (FP) for a medication check and blood work; the patient is a moderate smoker. During the medication check and blood work, which took about 5 minutes, the patient tells the practice’s non-physician practitioner (NPP) “I think I’m ready to quit smoking; can you help?” The NPP spends the next 7 minutes providing smoking cessation counseling for the patient. Can I report a cessation code and an E/M?

Answer: Provided the patient meets Medicare’s requirements for cessation counseling, you can report the following:

  • 99211 (Office or other outpatient visit for the evaluation and management of an established patient, that may not require the presence of a physician. Usually, the presenting problem[s] are minimal. Typically, 5 minutes or less are spent performing or supervising these services.) for the E/M
  • 492.0 (Emphysema; emphysematous bleb) appended to
  • 99211 to represent the patient’s emphysema
  • 99406 (Smoking and tobacco use cessation counseling visit; intermediate, greater than 3 minutes up to 10 minutes) for the smoking cessation counseling
  • 305.1 (Tobacco use disorder) appended to 99406 to represent the patient’s tobacco dependency.

Know the rules: According to Medicare, its patients are entitled to smoking and tobacco use cessation counseling provided the patient is either:

  • a tobacco user who has an illness caused or complicated by tobacco use or
  • taking a therapeutic agent whose metabolism or dosing is affected by tobacco use as based on Food and Drug Administration-approved information.

Additionally, note these two frequency guidelines for spot-on 99406 and 99407 (… intensive, greater than 10 minutes) claims:

  • Medicare will

...

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Ensure Counseling Claims With Pointed Questions

This modifier is key to E&M and counseling codes cohabiting on your claim.

Question: Can I report alcohol cessation counseling codes along with E/M codes, or do I have to choose one or the other?

Idaho Subscriber

Answer: You can,...

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