2024 CPT Coding updates: Take a look at the updates in CPT coding and guidelines for professional services. Every year, on January 1st, updated CPT® codes and coding guidelines emerge, introducing new, revised, and eliminated codes. For instance, in CPT® 2024, there are 230 new codes, 70 revised ones, and 49 removed codes. Notably, no […]
Payers have been wrongly cutting payments to physicians for evaluation-and-management (E/M) services—often automatically through the use of claim-editing algorithms. A new AMA resource helps physicians fight back against health insurer downcoding. Downcoding happens when a payer changes a claim to a lower-cost service than what was submitted by the physician, leading the practice to get […]
Despite myths to the contrary, physicians are not prohibited from coding and billing for both preventive and problem-focused evaluation and management (E/M) services when they are performed during the same appointment. Motivated by a desire to avoid audits, many physicians tend to undercode for the work they perform. Others, however, are just unaware that the idea that […]
How many times has a provider asked you, “What do I need to document to get a 99215?” All too often, medical coders feel they should help their providers understand what elements of documentation are needed to warrant the higher level evaluation and management (E/M) service. Do not do it! If It Isn’t Documented, It […]
An overview of the proposed Medicare Physician Fee Schedule: The proposed Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) rule for 2020 was officially released on Aug. 14, 2019, encompassing various elements. Among these are proposals such as adjusting the PFS conversion factor to $36.09, introducing new HCPCS codes for bundled episode-of-care treatment for opioid use disorders, revising […]
Q: Are there any updates on the Evaluation and Management code requirements? A: The American Medical Association (AMA) has now weighed in with their E/M coding requirement modifications, which means that all payers will be affected in 2021. If you remember, Medicare announced plans to revamp the E/M coding structure in 2018 and was met with […]