Hot Coding Topics

Track Payer’s Preferred H1N1 Admin Code — or Risk Rejections

Code 488.1 does not = confirmed lab. Swine flu has made an early arrival in several states and in your 2009 preventive and sick coding. To avoid denials for H1N1 vaccination administration, you’re going to have to check which of three administration code options your major payers want. “Some payers want you to use the new [...] Related articles:

  1. 2 New HCPCS Codes for H1N1 Vaccine AdministrationPlus: New Bevacizumab code is effective Oct. 1. If you’re...
  2. Correct ICD-9 Coding for H1N1 (Swine Flu) Before you carry your swine flu diagnosis over to...
  3. Capture Vaccine Admin Without Charging Products These VFC FAQs help you report the seemingly impossible....

Comments Off on Track Payer’s Preferred H1N1 Admin Code — or Risk Rejections
November 3, 2009
Provider News

Big Insurers Underspend On Medical Care, Senate Probe Finds

Which big health insurance company did lawmakers single out? Is it the one that gives you the most denials trouble? A US Senate probe confirms what many coders and billers have been suspecting all along — that six major medical insurers aren’t spending as much as they should providing actual health care. Insurance industry officials say that [...] Related articles:

  1. Insurers Offer to Charge Sick People Less …… and healthy people more. In an unexpected move last...
  2. $12,910 More Per Year For Health Insurance?Imagine a world where insured patients pay DOUBLE the health...
  3. Stimulus Package Crash Course for Health Care ProvidersIf your head is swimming trying to figure out what...

Comments Off on Big Insurers Underspend On Medical Care, Senate Probe Finds
November 3, 2009
Coding Challenge / radiology

Radiology Coding Education: Is 76705 OK for Back?

Question: For a lower back ultrasound of a soft tissue mass, which CPT code is appropriate? Answer: Code 76705 (Ultrasound, abdominal, real time with image documentation; limited [e.g., single organ, quadrant, follow-up]) is appropriate for this lower back ultrasound. Although the code descriptor states “abdominal” and not “back,” CPT Assistant (May 2009) clarifies that 76705 is appropriate [...] Related articles:

  1. New From CPT Assistant: Help with Trunk Ultrasound Coding Do you know exactly what’s in the mediastinum? Your US...
  2. Double Ultrasound Codes Spell Double Trouble With AuditorsAuthorities scrutinize medical necessity for 76830 & 76856. The OIG...
  3. 5 Lessons Radiology Coders Should Learn From CCI 15.3Wonder if there’s a method to the 76001 madness? Here’s...

Comments Off on Radiology Coding Education: Is 76705 OK for Back?
November 2, 2009
Coder's Cranium

Nonphysician Providers & Incident To Checklist

Check state laws PLUS this crucial document. In last week’s Coder’s Cranium, we started a checklist of 3 things you should know to correctly bill for a nonphysician practitioner’s services — and stay compliant. This week, we complete the checklist with advice for items 4, 5 & 6. 4. Have You Distinguished Auxiliary Personnel From NPP Services? NPPs can [...] Related articles:

  1. Nonphysician Providers and Incident-To: Your Coding Questions AnsweredHere’s why you should keep your physicians’ work schedules on...
  2. Use This Incident-To Checklist to Breathe Easy During an Audit You don’t need to second-guess the way you bill...
  3. Steer Your Incident-To Coding Using These 4 Questions 100 percent pay possible if NPP follows internist’s care...

Comments Off on Nonphysician Providers & Incident To Checklist
November 1, 2009
Hot Coding Topics

Neurosugery Coding: 3 Easy Steps Distinguish Between 61790 & 61791

Anatomy know-how points you in the right direction every time. How do you tell the difference between 61790 (Creation of lesion by stereotactic method, percutaneous, by neurolytic agent [e.g., alcohol, thermal, electrical, radiofrequency]; gasserian ganglion) and 61791 (… trigeminal medullary tract)? That’s the question a Neurosurgery Coding Alert reader posed when she wrote, “What is the difference [...] Related articles:

  1. Add $36 to This Excision Claim in 3 StepsPatience is a virtue, particularly when it comes to coding...
  2. 5 Lessons Radiology Coders Should Learn From CCI 15.3Wonder if there’s a method to the 76001 madness? Here’s...
  3. Skull Biopsy, No Burr Hole: 61500 or 61563?Question: Our surgeon biopsied a lesion from the skull, but...

Comments Off on Neurosugery Coding: 3 Easy Steps Distinguish Between 61790 & 61791
November 1, 2009