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2018 CPC Practice Exam Answer Key 150 Questions With Full Rationale (HCPCS, ICD-9-CM, ICD-10, CPT Codes) Click here for more sample CPC practice exam questions with Full Rationale Answers

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Know the Difference Between Medicare and Medicaid NCCI Edits

Follow the correct edit to promote payment and avoid denial. By Samantha Prince, BSHCM, COC, CPC, CPMA National Correct Coding Initiative (NCCI) edits for Medicare and Medicaid are not the same. If you’re following Medicare edits for Medicaid claims, you may have claims denying inappropriately. That’s missed revenue you could capture by applying the correct […]
AAPC Knowledge Center

Claim denial for NCCI Edits from another group

Hi all!
I have a denial for a NCCI edit, the tricky part is, the code they are pairing it with is from a different group all together. I’m not sure of the situation, as far as if the patient was seen one place and then decided to come to us or what, but either way, did an E/M visit along with fundus photos and referred the patient out to a specialist for a detached retina. The insurance company is denying due to another code for a similar procedure being done by another provider on the same date of service. I can’t find anything specific in the NCCI edits that talk about this type of situation and in all my years, this is a first!
Any ideas or thoughts on where I can find this specific information?
Thank you in advance :confused:

Medical Billing and Coding Forum

NCCI Manual includes clarifications for modifier -59 usage, injections and infusions

By Steven Andrews
With the latest edition of the NCCI Manual, effective January 1, CMS does not introduce any new guidance for recurring coding trouble areas including modifier -59 (distinct procedural service) usage and injection and infusion services, but some new clarifications could aid coding departments.
 
The manual now includes new information regarding modifier -59 use for procedures performed at the same patient encounter. The expanded example for timed services, with 2016 additions bolded, now says:
There is an appropriate use for modifier -59 that is applicable only to codes for which the unit of service is a measure of time (e.g., per 15 minutes, per hour). If two separate and distinct timed services are provided in separate and distinct time blocks, modifier -59 may be used to identify the services. The separate and distinct time blocks for the two services may be sequential to one another or split. When the two services are split, the time block for one service may be followed by a time block for the second service followed by another time block for the first service. All Medicare rules for reporting timed services are applicable. For example, the total time is calculated for all related timed services performed. The number of reportable units of service is based on the total time, and these units of service are allocated between the HCPCS/CPT codes for the individual services performed. The physician is not permitted to perform multiple services, each for the minimal reportable time, and report each of these as separate units of service. (e.g., A physician or therapist performs eight minutes of neuromuscular reeducation (CPT code 97112) and eight minutes of therapeutic exercises (CPT code 97110). Since the physician or therapist performed 16 minutes of related timed services, only one unit of service may be reported for one, not each, of these codes.)
 
CMS also added a new example for describing use of modifier -59 to report procedures performed on different anatomic sites:
The procedure-to-procedure edit with column one CPT code 11055 (paring or cutting of benign hyperkeratotic lesion …) and column two CPT code 11720 (debridement of nail[s] by any method; 1 to 5) may be bypassed with modifier -59 only if the paring/cutting of a benign hyperkeratotic lesion is performed on a different digit (e.g., toe) than one that has nail debridement. Modifier -59 should not be used to bypass the edit if the two procedures are performed on the same digit.
 
The manual also include a new example to explain proper coding for infusions involving double lumen catheters:
If both lumina of a double lumen catheter are utilized for infusions of different substances or drugs, only one “initial” infusion CPT code may be reported. The double lumen catheter permits intravenous access through a single vascular site. Thus, it would not be correct to report two “initial” infusion CPT codes, one for each lumen of the catheter.

 

For more information about changes to the NCCI Manual, see CMS’ website. 

HCPro.com – APCs Insider

[Announcement] NCCI Has Removed the Current Edit Prohibiting 77295 and 77300 from Being Reported Together

CMS and the NCCI has removed the current edit prohibiting the reporting of CPT codes 77295 and 77300 together, effective July 1, 2016. The change will be finalized in the July version of the NCCI Manual and will be retroactive to January 1, 2016. Reporting requirements may vary by payer:

Claims reported to Medicare contractors: 

Claims for CPT codes 77295 and 77300 should not be reported together until the edit is removed on July 1, 2016. Practice billing systems can begin capturing charges for 77300; however, the charges should not be released to Medicare until July 1, 2016. All prospective and retrospective pending charges for 77300 may be released on or after July 1, 2016.

    Claims reported to private payers:

    Depending on state guidelines and individual payer policies, some private payers may not permit claims to be submitted after a certain period of time has passed. Therefore, practices could consider submitting charges for 77300 to commercial payers prior to July 1, 2016. Refer to your payer’s individual reporting policies for guidance on when to submit claims for 77295 and 77300. 

       

      Click here to read the original article on the prohibition of reporting 77295 and 77300 together. 

      The Medical Management Institute – MMI – Medical Coding News & MMI Updates

      Minimize Your NCCI Denial Risk

      Maximize revenue cycle profits by watching bundling. Becoming knowledgeable about National Correct Coding Initiative (NCCI) policies and edits may be the difference between having a profitable revenue cycle or placing your facility at risk for denials. In recent years, NCCI policies and edits have become key factors in outpatient facility and profe
      AAPC Knowledge Center

      The New Year Brings Changes to Shoulder Arthroscopy in the NCCI Manual

      The National Correct Coding Initiative (NCCI) Policy Manual for Medicare Services is updated once a year. The 2017 updates have been released. Chapter IV Surgery: Musculoskeletal system contains revisions to clarify limited and extensive debridement of the shoulder when performed with other shoulder procedures on the same shoulder. Subsection 4 In 2016, Section E Arthroscopy […]
      AAPC Blog

      NCCI Policy Manual 2017—New Instructions found in Red

      https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Coding/…tEd/index.html

      Chapter 1 NCCI policy Manual 2017

      MUE and NCCI PTP edits are based on services provided by the same physician to the same beneficiary on the same date of service. Physicians should not inconvenience beneficiaries nor increase risks to beneficiaries by performing services on different dates of service to avoid MUE or NCCI PTP edits.

      __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _________________________
      For example, a physician should not report a diagnostic ultrasound CPT code and CPT code 76942 (ultrasonic guidance for needle placement…) when performed in the same anatomic region on the same date of service.
      __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _____________________________
      Chapter 2 NCCI Policy Manual 2017

      In certain circumstances critical care services are provided by the anesthesiologist. CRNAs may be paid for evaluation and management services in the critical care area if state law and/or regulation permits them to provide such services.
      __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ______________________________
      Chapter 8 NCCI Policy Manual 2017

      On January 1, 2017, CPT codes 62310-62319 were replaced by CPT codes 62320-62327. CPT codes 62321, 62323, 62325, and 62327 describe these injections with fluoroscopic or CT guidance, and CPT codes 62320, 62322, 62324, and 62326 describe these injections without imaging guidance.
      __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________
      (2) If a physician injects the superior medial and lateral branches and inferior medial branches of the left genicular nerve, only one UOS of CPT code 64450 (Injection, anesthetic agent; other peripheral nerve or branch) may be reported regardless of the number of injections needed to block this nerve and its branches.

      __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ____________________
      Chapter 9 NCCI Policy Manual 2017

      3. When a comparative imaging study is performed to assess potential complications or completeness of a procedure(e.g., post-reduction, post-intubation, post-catheter placement, etc.), the professional component of the CPT code for the post-procedure imaging study is not separately payable and should not be reported. The technical component of the CPT code for the postprocedure imaging study may be reported
      __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ______________________________’

      17. CPT codes 72081-72084 describe radiologic examination of the entire spine, the codes differing based on the number of views. The other codes in the CPT code range 72020-72120 describe radiologic examination of specific regions of the spine differing based on the region of the spine and the number of views. If a physician performs a procedure described by CPT codes 72081-72084 and at the same patient encounter performs a procedure described by one or more other codes in the CPT code range 72020-72120, the physician should sum the total number of views and report the appropriate code in the CPT code range 72081-72084. The physician should not report a code from the CPT code range 72081-72084 plus another code in the CPT code range 72020-72120 for services performed at the same patient encounter
      __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________
      18. Since the foot includes the toes and calcaneous bone, CPT code 73630 (radiologic examination, foot; complete, minimum of 3 views) includes radiologic examination of the toes and calcaneous. A physician should not report CPT code 73650 (radiologic examination; calcaneus, minimum of 2 views) or 73660 (radiologic examination; toe(s), minimum of 2 views) with CPT code 73630 for the same foot on the same date of service.
      __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ___________
      9. Evaluation of an anatomic region and guidance for a needle placement procedure in that anatomic region by the same radiologic modality at the same or different patient encounter(s) on the same date of service are not separately reportable. For example, a physician should not report a diagnostic ultrasound CPT code and CPT code 76942 (ultrasonic guidance for needle placement…) when performed in the same anatomic region on the same date of service. Physicians should not avoid these edits by requiring patients to have the procedures performed on different dates of service if historically the evaluation of the anatomic region and guidance for needle biopsy procedures were performed on the same date of service

      __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ________________________
      Chapter 10 NCCI policy manual 2017

      CMS policy prohibits separate payment for duplicate testing or testing for the same analyte by more than one methodology. (See definition of analyte in Section M (General Policy Statements), subsection #2.)
      __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __
      An analyte as used in this Manual refers to the entity measured by a quantitative or qualitative laboratory test or assay. Examples of analytes include, but are not limited to, the results of drug tests, urinalysis tests, molecular pathology tests, genomic sequence and molecular multianalyte tests, multianalyte assays with algorithmic analyses, chemistry tests, hematology and coagulation tests, immunology tests, tissue typing, transfusion medicine tests, microbiology tests, anatomic pathology (including surgical pathology and cytopathology) tests, cytogenetic tests, reproductive medicine tests, and other procedures/tests/assays listed in the Pathology and Laboratory section of the CPT Manual as well as clinical laboratory tests or assays assigned HCPCS level II codes
      __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _______________________

      For Calendar Year 2016, urine drug presumptive testing should have been reported with HCPCS codes G0477-G0479. These codes differed based on the level of complexity of the testing methodology. Only one code from this code range should have been reported per date of service. These codes were deleted January 1, 2017.

      Beginning January 1, 2017, urine drug presumptive testing may be reported with CPT codes 80305-80307. These codes differ based on the level of complexity of the testing methodology. Only one code from this code range may be reported per date of service.

      Beginning January 1, 2016, urine drug definitive testing may be reported with HCPCS codes G0480-G0483. These codes differ based on the number of drug classes including metabolites tested. Only one code from this code range may be reported per date of service.
      __________________________________________________ ________________________________________

      18. For calendar year 2016, urine drug presumptive testing should have been reported with HCPCS codes G0477-G0479. These codes were reported “per date of service” and should not have been reported with more than one UOS per day. These codes were deleted January 1, 2017.

      Beginning January 1, 2017, urine drug presumptive testing may be reported with HCPCS codes 80305-80307. These codes are reported “per date of service” and should not be reported with more than one UOS per day.

      Beginning January 1, 2016, urine drug definitive testing may be reported with HCPCS codes G0480-G0483. These codes are reported “per day” and should not be reported with more than one UOS per day.

      Medical Billing and Coding

      [Announcement] NCCI Will No Longer Allow 77300 and 77295 to be Reported Together

      The 2016 National Correct Coding Initiative (NCCI) Policy Manual for Medicare Services was released for services effective January 1, 2016. NCCI is a contractor for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that aims to prevent improper payment when incorrect code combinations are reported.

      Beginning January 1, 2016, NCCI will no longer allow the following CPT codes to be reported together:

      77300: Basic radiation dosimetry calculation, central axis depth dose calculation, TDF, NSD, gap calculation, off axis factor, tissue inhomogeneity factors, calculation of non-ionizing radiation surface and depth dose, as required during course of treatment, only when prescribed by the treating physician.
      77295: 3-dimensional radiotherapy plans, including dose-volume histograms.

       

      CMS has implemented an edit on these codes because the agency believes the work of 77300 is integral to the work of 77295, and therefore is not considered a separately reportable procedure. 

      The Medical Management Institute – MMI – Medical Coding News & MMI Updates