Understanding facility versus non-facility in the physician fee schedule explains the RVU and payment differences that practices receive when performing the same service in different settings. The Medicare Physician Fee Schedule has values for some CPT® codes that include both a facility and a non-facility fee. When CMS develops the fee schedule, each code has […]
What is a Coverage Policy?
National Coverage Determinations (NCD) and Local Coverage Determinations (LCD) are Medicare’s coverage policies that describe medical necessity for certain services. Private payers publish their own coverage policies on their Web sites. When services are denied due to medical necessity, no pre-authorization, failing to try less expensive or invasive treatments, this is a good indication there […]
HCPCS Code G0136 for Assessment Social Determinants of Health (SDoH)
HCPCS code G0136 for an assessment of patients a practitioner suspects may have difficulty with accessing treatment and following a treatment plan due to Social Determinants of Health (SDoH0 CMS established a standalone code G0136 (a HCPCS code) for the assessment of SDoH. They define SDoH into broad groups: “economic stability, education access and quality, […]
How Do We Code for “Meet and Greet Visits?
Question: What code can I use when a patient presents to establish care, and doesn’t have any symptoms or problems? Answer: First, code or no code, isn’t this a great position for the patient to be in? Establishing care without a care in the world? (Medically at least.) There isn’t a CPT code for “meet […]
E/M Services: High Volume, High Risk | Webinar
Recorded October 19, 2023
1 CEU expires 10/30/25
According to CMS, E/M services comprise 40% of allowed charges in the physician fee schedule, 20% office visits and 20% other E/M services. Medicare’s expense is medical practice revenue, with the income from some primary care practices comprising 70% or more of total charges. To protect the organization, compliance professionals can focus on four components of E/M.
Is ChatGPT Coming to Coding?
Question: What’s all this I hear about ChatGPT? Is it coming to coding? Answer: All right, I wrote that question myself. I’ve been thinking about this topic. Alicia Gallegos wrote an article for CodingIntel about the topic. But, I wanted to see for myself how it could interpret coding rules, so I asked ChatGPT questions […]
A Conversation with Two Auditors: Lessons Learned about MDM | Webinar
Recorded September 28, 2023
1 CEU expires 9/30/25
Guest Presenters Pam D’Apuzzo and Debra Rossi of VMG Health
Medical practices can prepare for audits, improve documentation and decrease compliance risk by sharpening their focus on high-risk areas, high volume services, identifying confusing areas of MDM. Then, develop consistent guidelines from appropriate resources.
CMS Finalizing Principal Illness Navigation (PIN) Services
This is information from the 2024 Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2023-24184.pdf CMS developed four HCPCS codes for Principal Illness Navigation. This service is intended to help patients with serious conditions navigate their health care treatment. PIN services are incident-to services so may only be performed in a non-facility setting Informed consent is required-the patient must […]
Medicare Coverage for Marriage and Family Therapists and Mental Health Counselors
In the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 Congress mandated that Medicare provide coverage and payment for the services of health professionals who are Marriage and Family Therapists (MFTs) and Mental Health Counselors (MHCs). The effective date of coverage is January 1, 2024. And of course, these professionals must enroll in Medicare in order to provide the […]
What are Social Determinants of Health?
Question: Can you settle this question for our coding team? Are smoking and drinking considered Social Determinants of Health? Answer: No. According to the CDC: “Social determinants of health (SDOH) are the non-medical factors that influence health outcomes. They are the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set […]
Documentation for Advance Care Planning
Question: How much detail do I need to include in documentation for Advance Care Planning? Answer: Document the discussion in enough detail that someone reading the note knows what was discussed. Is that a circular argument? Here’s the example that I give. If a surgeon performs an appendectomy, we wouldn’t bill for the service if […]
Coding Clinic Update, 2Q, 2023
Dr. Kennedy has generously allowed me to share his summary. He emphasizes that he is paraphrasing the recent advice in the spirit of “fair use” and we are responsible (and must) read the official advice directly from the Coding Clinic in light of previous Coding Clinic advice and in the context of the official ICD-10-CM conventions and guidelines. […]
HCC Transition from V24 to V28 | Webinar
Recorded July 20, 2023
CMS is transitioning risk coding from the 2020 V24 model to V28 beginning in 2024. This webinar will provide an overview of HCC coding, its purpose and methodology. We’ll describe the changes and enumerate some of the key differences in coefficients for commonly used conditions between V24 and V28. And finally, learning from OIG audits of Medicare Advantage Organizations and HCC coding, identify diagnosis codes that are frequently incorrectly reported.
Compliance Issues in ICD-10 Coding for Risk Based Contracts and HCCs
Everyone loves to read the general guidelines at the front of the ICD-10 book, right? No? Well, here’s an important excerpt. “Code all documented conditions, which coexist at the time of the visit that require or affect patient care or treatment. (Do not code conditions, which no longer exist).” Most of the articles I’ve written […]
CPT® Coding for Bronchoscopy Procedures | Webinar
Recorded May 18, 2023
Guest Presenter Shannon McCall of HCPro joins us once again for a CPT® focused webinar on all things bronchoscopy! This webinar will describe coding for bronchoscopy, with and without biopsy, with ultrasound guidance, and with procedures. It includes coding by the number of lobes visualized for certain procedures. There are three case studies to illustrate the coding rules for these procedures.
Coding for Hospital Services | Webinar
Recorded April 20, 2023
First, CPT® updated their E/M code set. Then, CMS interpreted the updates and applied their own reimbursement rules to the code set. This webinar will summarize CPT® rules and CMS’s February 2023 transmittal that addresses inpatient and observation billing by the admitting and consulting physicians, admission to inpatient status following observation care, and multiple visits in a single day. The webinar will discuss when coding instruction is the same for CPT® and CMS and when it varies.
CMS Split/Shared Services Rules | Reference Sheet
Download Reference Sheet Split/shared services are evaluation and management services (E/M) services performed jointly between a physician and a non-physician practitioner (NPP), also called advanced practice nurses or physician assistants. CMS pays services performed by physicians at 100% of the physician fee schedule amount and services performed by NPPs at 85% of the fee schedule […]
Chronic Care Management | Reference Sheet
This quick reference sheet includes clinical staff time, care planning and billing practitioner work criteria for chronic care management services. When coding for care management services services, practitioners need to distinguish between chronic care management and complex chronic care management, between who does the work, the practitioner or clinical staff, and the amount of time […]
Screening and Behavioral Counseling Interventions in Primary Care to Reduce Alcohol Misuse | HCPCS Code G0442
The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends screening for alcohol misuse and behavioral interventions for individuals whose screening results are positive. Medicare pays for an annual screening for alcohol misuse for all Medicare beneficiaries using HCPCS code G0442. For those who screen positive, Medicare also pays for a brief face-to-face behavioral counseling session, HCPCS […]
Are You Missing the Initial Annual Wellness Visit? | G0438
Knowing which Medicare wellness visit to bill Eligibility requirements for the Welcome to Medicare visit After I gave a presentation at a family medicine conference a physician said to me, “What you just told me will pay for the entire cost of my coming to this conference.” I don’t always hear that after I give […]
Coding for Hernia Repair
CPT® revised the codes and concepts used for coding for hernia repair. These are significant changes for surgical procedures that are used very frequently. At the start of the repair codes, the AMA has new language that says “The hernia repair codes in this section are categorized primarily by the type of hernia (inguinal, femoral, […]
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