Reader’s of the Anesthesia & Pain Coder’s Pink Sheet (APCPS) already know that Noridian plans to issue a new LCD for post-op pain blocks; turns out that was just the start of the carrier’s foray into pain policies.
 
The comment period for DL33188, Noridian’s proposed new policy for pain blocks billed to Part B ended on July 11. But a look at the queue of upcoming draft policies shows the carrier will open the comment period for three pain policies on Sept. 10. There are two brand new policies on epidural steroid injections and nerve conduction studies. The carrier is also planning to revise its facet joint injection policy.
 
Why all the action? We’re not sure, but we know from reading APCPS that private carriers and Medicare continue to wrestle with high utilization of these services. We’ll also be watching what other carriers do. It isn’t unusual for carriers to borrow policies from one another. (Hey, it’s easier than writing one from scratch.) But since Noridian commands an impressive jurisdiction, whatever the carrier does will have impact on a lot of you and your peers.