RHCs and FQHCs are paid an all-inclusive rate (AIR) or national prospective payment system (PPS) rate for any service that is defined as a visit to their facility. A visit may be with a physician, non-physician practitioner (NPP), psychologist or social worker. There are some differences in RHC and FQHC rules, but in general, a […]
Prevention and screening
Keeping patients healthy, providing advice about health risks and recommending screening tests and immunizations are the heart of primary care medicine. CPT uses one set of codes and Medicare another, and you’ll find coding information on both here, along with guidance on billing for split visits.
Billing Preventive Medicine Services and Problem Visit | Quick Reference Sheet
This quick reference sheet provides guidance for billing preventive medicine services and split visits.
Does 99459 Require a Chaperone?
Question: The E/M session of the CPT® symposium this year was in question-and-answer format. One of the questions was, “Is a chaperone required to use add-on code 99459?” Answer: Their answer: no. Some consultants stated that in order to use code 99459 with an office visit, consult, or certain preventive medicine services, a chaperone was […]
High Intensity Behavioral Counseling to Prevent Sexually Transmitted Illnesses (STI) and PrEP G0445
CMS covers counseling to prevent STI in certain circumstances. The code is G0445. G0445 – Semiannual high intensity behavioral counseling to prevent STIs, individual, face-to- face, includes education skills training & guidance on how to change sexual behavior, performed semi-annually, 30 minutes. The patient must be referred by a primary care provider to be eligible […]
Screening for Other Sexually Transmitted Illnesses (STI)
This article covers CPT® and diagnosis codes used for screening for other sexually transmitted illnesses. It includes descriptions and screening criteria. To tell whether or not you can collect a co-pay for the testing or not can be found on the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPTF) website [1]. The Affordable Care Act mandated that […]
National Coverage Determination: PrEP for HIV Prevention | HCPCS Code G0011
Physicians and qualified health professionals (QHP) can provide (get paid for) up to eight counseling sessions per year for HIV risk assessment, risk reduction and medication adherence, according to a national coverage determination (NCD) issued in 2024. Background On September 30, 2024 CMS issued a NCD 210.15, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) […]
Smoking Cessation, Substance Use Counseling, Screening, and Intervention Coding, 99406-99609
Although the use of tobacco products is on the decline in the United States, the consumption of alcohol and other addictive substances remains a common preventable problem. As a result, the American Medical Association’s (AMA’s) CPT Editorial Panel included a spotlight on reporting tobacco, alcohol, and substance use cessation, counseling, screening, and intervention codes in […]
Billing for Pap Smear
Billing for pap smears in a physician practice can be confusing for clinicians and coders alike. Pap smears can be screening services or diagnostic services There is a HCPCS code for obtaining a screening pap smear, Q0091 Performing a pelvic exam is either part of a preventive medicine service or problem oriented visit CPT® add-on […]
G0101 Pelvic and Breast Exam
Medicare has HCPCS codes for screening services for women Both G0101 (screening breast and pelvic exam) and Q0091 (obtaining a screening pap smear) may be billed every two years for a low-risk patient and every year for high-risk patients These are not comprehensive preventive medicine services They may be billed on the day of a […]
Preventive Medicine Services – Medicare
Medicare has very specific requirements for preventive services. What can you bill, what must you document? This article covers all the bases including tips for billing the Welcome to Medicare and Annual and Subsequent Wellness Visits. More tips for preventive medicine and split visits can be found here. See also Q&A from the Preventive Medicine […]
Preventive Medicine, Wellness Visits and Problem-Oriented Visits | Webinar
Recorded April 18th, 2024
1 CEU expires 5/30/26
Two for the price of one? Or, double-billing? There are varying opinions about when the documentation supports adding a problem-oriented visit to a CPT® preventive service or a Medicare wellness visit. This webinar provides a framework for determining if documentation shows the additional work that was done.
Age and Wellness Visits | Eligibility for Welcome to Medicare
Who can perform the AWV Knowing which Medicare wellness visit to bill Eligibility requirements for the Welcome to Medicare visit AWV and chronic care management A few years ago, I gave an AWV presentation at a family medicine conference and afterwards a physician said to me, “What you just told me will pay for the […]
HCPCS Code G0136 Update
CMS is changing the definition of HCPCS code G0136. They are keeping the code, and the valuation of the code. The code is staying on the telehealth list. But there is a completely new definition. Between now and 12/31/2025, G0136 is for an assessment of a patient in the areas of social determinants of health […]
Screening and Behavioral Counseling Interventions in Primary Care to Reduce Alcohol Misuse | HCPCS Code G0442
Information about these services, and other screening/preventive care is found on the CMS website CMS MLN Medicare Preventive Services Educational Tool. The reference is now MLN006559. The page was updated in 2025 to include: Added crisis support contact information Added information for safety planning for patients at risk for suicide Added information for follow-up contacts […]
Coding and Reimbursement for Lactation Services
Questions about coverage and payment for breastfeeding and lactation counseling services come up regularly. And, payers change their policies. It is important to keep up-to-date with the commercial payers with which you have contracts. Is lactation counseling separately billable or considered part of the obstetrical package? What if the patient sees the physician and a […]
Can We Bill a New Patient Visit for Preventive and E/M Services on the Same Day?
See our on-demand webinar, Preventive medicine and Medicare wellness visits with an E/M. Question: Our physician saw a patient and did a preventive medicine service and addressed an acute, significant problem. The patient was new to us. Should we bill both as new patient visits? Answer: The last time I saw this addressed by CPT® […]
Screening Codes Guide – G0442, G0443, G0444, G0446, G0447
Medicare pays for some screening services for its beneficiaries, using HCPCS codes. These screening codes are time-based HCPCS codes with relatively low wRVU values and payment. This coding guide includes an explanation of the guidelines for each of these codes, and information about bundling, diagnosis coding, specialty and site of service restrictions, and much more.
Intensive Behavioral Counseling for Cardiovascular Disease, HCPCS Code G0446
Medicare pays a primary care physician or other primary care practitioner in a primary care setting to annually provide one face-to-face behavioral counseling session for cardiovascular disease. Although CMS has developed a HCPCS code specifically for this service, many primary care clinicians perform this service as part of an E/M service or a wellness visit. […]
Coding Guide – Preventive Medicine Services
Coding for preventive medicine services should be easy, but it’s not. It’s complicated by frequency issues, Medicare rules and the always difficult issue of when to bill a problem oriented E/M service on the same day. This guide includes coding and billing guidelines for preventive medicine services.
Screening for Depression | HCPCS Code G0444
G0444 Annual depression screening , 5–15 minutes According to Change Request 13710, beginning January 1, 2025, Medicare pays primary care practices to screen all Medicare patients annually for depression. The service must be provided in a primary care setting, using one of the following place of service codes: 02 Telehealth provided other than in patient’s […]
Behavioral Counseling for Obesity, HCPCS Code G0447
G0447 face-to-face behavioral counseling for obesity, 15 minutes G0473 Face-to-face behavioral counseling for obesity, group (2-10) 30 minutes Medicare pays for ongoing face-to-face behavioral counseling for patients with a body mass index (BMI) of ≥ 30, who are alert and able to participate in counseling. The service may be performed by a physician or non-physician […]