Category: Medical Coding

Patient Counseling

CMS Announces New Payment Allocation for COVID-19 Patient Counseling

  CMS will leverage existing evaluation and management (E&M) payment codes to reimburse eligible providers for the coronavirus counseling services.  The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will make payment available to physicians and providers for counseling patients at the time of COVID-19 testing about the importance of self-isolation after they are tested and prior to […]
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Artificial Intelligence in Medical Coding

Artificial Intelligence Meets Medical Coding

Medical billing and coding is an integral component of healthcare. The medical coding outsourcing market alone is projected to reach16.9 billion dollars by 2021. However, coding accuracy is an ongoing challenge. To maximize efficiency and accuracy of the medical coding process, companies are testing the possibilities of Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications. The current problem is […]
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CPT Codes for Cardiovascular Services

Proposed Rule Introduces New CPT Codes For Cardiac Shunting, EKGS, And Lung Biopsies

Coders should also take note of the new HCPCS Level II codes CMS is considering. CMS released the calendar year (CY) 2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) on August 3, introducing 39 new CPT codes, mainly for cardiovascular services. If finalized, the new codes will go into effect January 1, 2021. The proposed update includes five new codes for […]
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CPT Code for Coronavirus Testing

AMA Announces New CPT Codes for Coronavirus Testing

The American Medical Association (AMA) has recently expanded its Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code set to include four additional codes for coronavirus testing. These new codes facilitate providers in reporting a wider range of laboratory tests for the novel coronavirus on medical claims. The newly introduced CPT codes are as follows: •86408: SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody […]
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COVID-19 billing updates

CMS Pays for Coronavirus Counseling, Other COVID-19 Billing Updates

Provider reimbursement is now available to physicians who tell their patients to self-isolate at the time of COVID-19 testing, according to CMS. An announcement released late last week in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said CMS will leverage existing evaluation and management (E/M) payment codes to reimburse eligible providers for the coronavirus […]
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ICD-10-PCS Codes for Therapeutics

12 new ICD-10-PCS Codes to Identify Therapeutics

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) implemented 12 new ICD-10-PCS codes to allow Medicare and other insurers to identify the use of the therapeutics Remdesivir and Convalescent plasma for treating hospital inpatients with coronavirus (COVID-19). The new codes, effective Aug. 1, are: ICD-10-PCS Code XW013F5 – Introduction of Other New Technology Therapeutic Substance […]
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AMA E&M Code Changes

2021 AMA E&M Changes: A Provocative Overview

  Many of us have been immersed in COVID-19 and telehealth billing, coding, and the varying rules among payors of late, all the while the clock has remained ticking on the looming changes to evaluation and management (E&M) services, effective Jan. 1, 2021. It is possible, too, that there are those who have not heard […]
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Telehealth Behavior Assessment Codes

New Behavior Assessment Codes for Telehealth

  There’s a slew of new health behavior assessment codes for 2020 and, good news, they’re on Medicare’s list of services you can provide via telehealth during the public health emergency (PHE) for COVID-19. Check out this rundown of the new codes and who should be using them. Assessment Codes Include Individual, Group The health […]
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2021 ICD-10-CM Guidelines

2021 ICD-10-CM Guidelines Clarify Reporting of COVID-19 Manifestations

  Coders should note that the temporary guidelines will expire September 30. CMS released the 2021 ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting on July 8, several weeks earlier than usual. The coding guidelines, which take effect October 1, include new instructions for reporting manifestations of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), among other changes. The guidelines include a new […]
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