New COVID cases reported daily have more than doubled during recent weeks, since a more modest July surge. As the nation’s COVID-19 pandemic continues to spiral out of control, federal authorities are racing to find ways to mitigate the spread. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced last week that Medicare beneficiaries will […]
When billing for outpatient telehealth services during the COVID-19 PHE, providers should use the POS code that they would have otherwise used had the service been provided in person. Q: What place of service (POS) codes and modifiers should be reported on physician claims for wound care services performed via telehealth during the novel coronavirus […]
Federal approval of the Pfizer vaccine, believed to be better than 90 percent effective, could occur before the end of the month. When the long-awaited and much-anticipated COVID-19 vaccine becomes available in the U.S., a development that could take place before the end of the year, a set of new Current Procedural Terminology (CPT®) codes […]
The mood of the country impacts claims. There are a few words that can be associated with the pandemic and the election. These words are the following: Stress – a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances Anxiety – a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease typically […]
The government is working at warp speed to make a COVID-19 vaccine available in the United States. To that end, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently published an interim final rule with comment period (IFC) to implement Section 3713 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), which established Medicare Part […]
Changes to the code descriptors and guidelines for evaluation and management (E/M) services delivered during office visits and other outpatient encounters provide an opportunity to rethink outpatient documentation while reducing physician burnout. “E/M code changes: What will happen to the physician note?” was the question answered in the first of three webinars jointly produced by […]
CMS updated its COVID-19 billing FAQs on October 28 to address billing scenarios for potential monoclonal antibody treatments. The two new FAQs, which appear in section BB. Drugs and Vaccines under Part B, address billing for monoclonal antibody treatments provided in the hospital outpatient setting. CMS notes that if a monoclonal antibody product is granted an […]
Spiking COVID-19 cases and the presidential election may have diverted attention away from the 2021 Physician Fee Schedule, but that doesn’t mean that revenue cycle leaders can afford to drop the ball as they wait for CMS to release its final rule. And even though CMS was late to release the proposed rule—which in turn pushed […]
The American Medical Association (AMA) today published an update to the code set that includes new vaccine-specific codes to report immunizations for the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). Working closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the CPT Editorial Panel has approved a unique CPT code for each of two coronavirus vaccines as well as […]
Cold antibody hemolytic anemia is a rare autoimmune disorder characterized by the premature destruction of red blood cells by autoantibodies at temperatures of approximately 0 to 10 degrees Celsius. Q: What is the difference between cold, hot, and mixed type autoimmune hemolytic anemia, as described by 2021 ICD-10-CM codes D59.11-D59.13? A: ICD-10-CM code category D59.- (acquired […]