Pam Warren, MHA, COC, CPC, Fellow We’ve all seen that two-page chart in the CPT® book that indicates the place of service code (POS) that is expected to be reported for physician services. But not every physician performs in office settings; not all physicians perform office visits, and some services can be billed by physicians when […]
Provider-Based Billing | Webinar
Recorded July 17th, 2025
1 CEU expires 7/30/26
Guest presenter Pam Warren of MaineHealth
Reporting services in provider-based clinics requires knowledge of Medicare rules related to the technical and professional components of visits. It requires understanding of both the CMS 1500 form and the UB04.
How Fees are Set in the Medicare Fee Schedule
How does Medicare set its fees? This is important for other payers because commercial payers often use the values set by Medicare to calculate their fees. This overview provides information and examples to explain how fees are set in the Medicare Fee Schedule. CodingIntel members can start with the brief video introduction and companion slides, […]
Five Novel Reimbursement Opportunities – and More to Boost Your Practice’s Payments | Webinar
Recorded: June 2024
Guest Presenter Elizabeth Woodcock
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have approved five new payment opportunities for 2024 – just the beginning of what promises to be a significant shift in the reimbursement landscape for medical practices.
2025 RVU table with national fee amounts
Looking for 2025 work RVUs? Wondering how much a new code pays? Look no farther. You can download the 2025 CMS national RVU table below. It does not include payment variations after the geographic practice cost indices have been applied. We’ve hidden some columns (which you can unhide) so that you see the code, short […]
How Physician Services are Paid – Overview
Have a new staff member or physician who needs a primer on “how physician services are paid?” This short video is a must see! Learn how all the piece come together, from CPT® and HCPCS, to diagnosis coding and Medicare rules. All in about 15 minutes…
Two Visits for the Price of One? | Multiple Medical Visits on the Same Day
Patients often schedule two medical appointments on the same day with physicians of different specialties. It’s convenient for them. It saves travel time. It may mean the patient or a family member only needs to take one day off work. Can a multi-specialty practice be paid for two visits, when the physicians/non-physician practitioners (NPPs) practice […]
Facility versus Non-Facility in the Physician Fee Schedule
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 […]
As Time Goes By
One of the complexities for medical practices is using time in CPT® coding. CPT® has long had a unit of time rule that a unit of time is met when the midpoint has passed. That is, you’ve reached an hour after 31 minutes. There are many CPT® codes that follow this mid-point time rule including […]
Coding Principles for Practice Administrators | Webinar
Recorded: July 21, 2022
Administrators managing both fee-for-service and value based payment contracts must maximize revenue and minimize risk in coding for services performed in their practices. This webinar will provide a framework for administrators when they are called on to mediate coding disagreements within their practices.
How Old is Your Oldest CPT® Book
My, how CPT® has grown Thank you to everyone who completed our mission critical survey: how old is your oldest CPT® book and how many pages is it? Page down: a summary chart is below. First, some of you save everything. I’d love to see your office shelves. There are coders out there who have […]
Best Practices in Revenue Cycle Management | Webinar
Recorded October 21, 2021
Guest presenter Elizabeth Woodcock
In this webinar, speaker, author, and consultant Elizabeth Woodcock provides a roadmap to optimize your practice management system, prevent denials, and strengthen cash collections.
How Medical Practice Services are Paid | Webinar
Recorded May 20, 2021
The coding and reimbursement system is anything but simple. This webinar will explain how services are paid in fee-for-service medicine, and the use of CPT codes, HCPCS codes, ICD-10-CM codes, bundling, and payer policies. It is a broad overview aimed at describing “who makes up these rules” and where to look for definitive, citation-based answers.
Coding Guide – How Physician Services are Paid
This is an essential resource for new physicians, non-physician practitioners, coders and billers and for managers who want to know just enough to manage. In addition to this billing guide, be sure to reference the helpful infographic and Betsy’s 15 minute video on the payment process.
Physician Specialty Codes and Claims Processing
Specialty designation is determines how claims are processed for physician and non-physician practitioners in groups It is also important in crediting data using the E/M guidelines, developed in 2021 and expanded in 2023 When physicians enroll in Medicare, they self-elect their specialty designation. In the enrollment process, there are fields to indicate primary and secondary […]
Diagnosis Coding | Not Just for Claims Anymore
Physician claims are paid based on the fee schedule associated with the CPT® or HCPCS code that is submitted. Diagnosis coding can be a reason for a denial. Physicians use CPT® or HCPCS codes to tell the payer what was done (colonoscopy, office visit) and modifiers to describe special circumstances (assistant at surgery, bilateral procedure.) […]
OB Coder Survey | Billing Extra Visits During Pregnancy
Thank you to the 63 generous coders and billers who answered my questions about billing extra OB visits during the maternity period. If we and our payers are following CPT® rules, these extra visits caring for a pregnant patient are separately billable. The editorial comments at the start of the Maternity Care and Delivery section […]
Dear Resident, Do you Understand Relative Value Units (RVUs)?
Measuring physician productivity with work RVUs: News flash! Physicians are more interested in medicine than coding. No doctor undertook the rigors of medical school in order to be an expert coder. But, when residency ends, some physicians will find themselves looking at employment contracts in which their compensation will be determined in part by productivity. […]
How Physician Services are Paid – Infographic
CPT® codes, HCPCS, modifiers, global surgical packages, CMS formulas, diagnosis codes, location, and more…how do all these pieces come together for medical reimbursement? This helpful infographic from CodingIntel shows how physician services are paid with proper medical billing and coding.