When an OB patient is either admitted to OBED or inpatient and an NST is performed we are coding it with the medical necessity codes and a -26 modifier. Some payers are denying this as global; some are reimbursing. The CCI edits for 59025 show the NST is not reimbursable for inpatient or outpatient E/M codes; however, everything I have researched shows we can bill this with the -26 modifier if there is medical necessity. Can anyone shed some light on this and whether it is, in fact, appropriate to bill the NST during in- and outpatient stays?

Thanks so much for the help!