Part B News | Part B News

Avoid specimen validity, drug screen codes on same day except in rare cases

09/24/2018

Refrain from reporting specimen validity testing when you perform drug screens using a batch of common CPT and HCPCS codes or you may wind up in the crosshairs of CMS auditors and HHS’ Office of Inspector General (OIG).

5 tips to cut denials on intensive counseling for obesity (G0447)

09/24/2018

by: Richard Scott

Make sure you hit the mark on various coding rules, such as weight measures and reporting frequency, to successfully report intensive behavioral therapy services for patients who could benefit from trimming their waistlines.

Avoid anatomic modifiers on unlisted surgical codes to stay within coding bounds

09/24/2018

by: Richard Scott

Question: Can you please provide advice about reporting modifiers with unlisted codes? We are using modifiers 50, 62, 82, RT and LT to communicate to the carrier that the unlisted procedure we are billing is being done bilaterally at times with an assistant surgeon or co-surgeon. However, CPT has expressed this is incorrect. Is there a hard-and-fast rule on using modifiers with unlisted CPT codes?

Unlisted codes a poor bet for success, especially if you miss a memo

09/24/2018

by: Roy Edroso

Providers don’t like to use unlisted codes if they can help it, and no wonder — the denial rates are ridiculous.

Human trafficking victims: Know the signs and what to report

09/17/2018

by: Marla Durben Hirsch

Your practice should be up to speed on your obligations involving human trafficking. Odds are that you’ve probably treated a human trafficking victim— even if you didn’t realize it.

Signs that a patient may be a victim of human trafficking

09/17/2018

by: Marla Durben Hirsch

It’s often difficult to discern whether a patient is a victim of human trafficking. Check for these signs.

CCI edits bundle biopsy codes, revise prolonged service billing caps

09/17/2018

by: Richard Scott

Alert your billing staff to the latest Correct Coding Initiative (CCI) edits, which add 942 new code bundles mostly targeting surgical codes across a range of CPT and HCPCS families. Effective Oct. 1, the CCI version 24.3 update also brings nearly 150 revised medically unlikely edits (MUEs), which change established service-unit caps.

CCI version 24.3 scorecard: 942 new code pairs, 148 MUE revisions

09/17/2018

by: Richard Scott

The latest Correct Coding Initiative (CCI) edits, which take effect Oct. 1, contain 942 new code pairs that bundle a range of services across the CPT and HCPCS code sets. The CCI update also feature 45 newly placed caps on services under the medically unlikely edits (MUEs) section. Nearly 150 MUEs have been revised. Check out the CCI version 24.3 scorecard to find out which code families are affected.

Non-compete clauses may not bind; give the judge some leeway or lose all

09/17/2018

by: Roy Edroso

Q: We have non-compete clauses in our doctors’ contracts, saying when they leave us they can’t practice within a certain radius of our offices for a certain period of time. But lately I’ve been noticing legal cases in the paper where doctors have challenged their non-competes and judges have released them. What were those practices doing wrong and how can we avoid it?

4 tips to ease task of querying clinicians on coding matters

09/17/2018

by: Laura Evans

When you must approach your physician with a coding question, keep these four points in mind to ensure an efficient response with a minimum of fuss, advises a nationally known expert in clinical documentation improvement (CDI)/

Login

User Name:
Password:
Remember me Forgot password
Welcome to the new Part B News Online. If you are a returning user having trouble logging in, please click here.