Comments for Coding NewsCoding News – News about Coding

Comment on CMS Confirms Oct. 1, 2014 As New ICD-10 Implementation Date by manishkumar

manishkumar — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 11:36:12 +0000

THis is a test comment from Akshaya Mathur

Comment on 71010 and 71020 Are Among Top 10 Radiology Services, So Beware of Common Documentation Downfalls by Frank Hopkins

Frank Hopkins — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 01:17:47 +0000

I received a bill for $725.00 for a chest x-ray (71020).
In conjuction with the same claim I received a bill
for $46.00 for 1.0 office/outpatiet visit est (9921.3)
Are these charges reasonable for the Houston Texas
area??

Comment on Smoking Cessation Codes: 99406, 99407 Truths Revealed by Donna

Donna — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 02:48:00 +0000

I was charged 2 times $64.00. My first visit was for a sleep study. The doctor decided to do lung tests but nothing bout smoking was mentioned. Then second visit he is lying saying he counseled me for 16 minutes. This was his counseling. Your lungs are consistent to a smoker… then he said “People like you keep us in busy”. That was the counseling I And it did not take him a minute to say it.
I have to pay these charges as I appealed them and lost. Now my credit will be affected if i don’t pay them. Who implemented these new charges I never heard of?

Comment on POS 22 Reporting Can Become More Common Starting October by LInman

LInman — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 01:23:22 +0000

What if you see an inpatient in your office(the hospital sends them over for an appointment) what would that POS be? I assume it is billable since often times nursing home patients are brought to the office as well.

Comment on 99212 or 99213 For Podiatry E/M Claims? MDM Level Is Your Key To Success by Dave

Dave — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 16:24:32 +0000

A great deal of debate goes into deciding the correct E&M level of service for an established patient. Because established patients only require 2 of the 3 components. Can the level of service be based solely on documented History and Exam? Medicare states that medical necessity is the overarching criterion for level of service but medical necessity is not medical decision making. If MDM is straight forward but history and exam support Comprehensive level, how is the level of service determined?The patient’s visit is medically necessary.

Comment on Pediatric Diagnosis Coding Update: ICD-9 2010 by Jannelle

Jannelle — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 20:18:57 +0000

Can V20.31 be used with 99238 New born hospital discharge?

Comment on CPT® Assistant July 2011 Weighs In on Revascularization, Stereotactic Navigation, CT, and More by Meira Friedman, MD

Meira Friedman, MD — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 18:56:49 +0000

I am dealing with a coding issue – perhaps you can guide me. I have a patient who receives blood draws from her venous port. The code 36591 is used to bill for this service. Her insurance company claims that 36591 falls under the category of outpatient surgical codes and as such, they charge her $100 every time she gets a blood draw (she’s a cancer patient and gets a lot of blood drawn). The family has paid thousands of dollars due to this issue alone.
I have investigated and do not see any mention of code 36591 being considered an outpatient surgical code by NCCI or AMA standards. How can I confirm that this code is NOT a surgical code?

Comment on What Items Does 86580 Include? by j carpenter

j carpenter — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 18:25:37 +0000

What dx code should be used if 99211 is used for the return reading? Insurance companies do not like V codes on office visits, or as we call them “sick visits”. The V codes are only payable on well visits. V74.1 can be the second dx, but what about the first dx.?

Comment on HCPCS 2010: CMS Debuts New J Codes by rpandit

rpandit — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 09:44:48 +0000

Hi Dr Khan,

It still remains J3490. Please check this reference for further details.

http://www.trailblazerhealth.com/Publications/Fee%20Schedule/NOC01-2012.pdf

Thanks,

Comment on HCPCS 2010: CMS Debuts New J Codes by Dr. Khan

Dr. Khan — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 20:50:03 +0000

I need the new cpt code for professional billing of the cpt code J3490 for sotradecol injections?