| Now you need not use 99241-99255 for some payers. | | | | see reimbursement slip down. |
| Read on to find out: | | | | Kim says that the MPFS is 1,669 pages long, but you |
| A big change is in store in 2010 as far as Medicare | | | | can get a quick glimpse of how all the changes affect |
| Physician Fee Schedule is concerned. As such you | | | | reimbursement for each specialty by scrolling to page |
| need to prepare yourself well for it. You can impress | | | | 1171 and checking out ‘Table 49’. |
| your bosses by understanding a big reimbursement | | | | So will the other payers still go with consultation |
| challenge and in the process pep up your medical | | | | codes? Coding guru Barbara Cobuzzi predicts that |
| coding and billing career. | | | | often private payers follow Medicare’s lead, but not |
| Consultation codes find the axe: For years, CMS was | | | | always. And that is going to make your coding job |
| concerned that we are coding incorrectly for | | | | tougher in 2010. The consultation codes are still |
| consultations; as such, from this year, they will no | | | | featured in the CPT manual and coders will have to |
| longer accept codes from the 99241-99255 section of | | | | manage who does and who does not allow |
| CPT. | | | | consultation. If you thought getting a request for opinion |
| Part B Insider editor Torrey Kim explains that CMS will | | | | was hard before, this will be worse. No one has any |
| raise payment for the other E/M codes to try and | | | | clue who will require one, the only surety being that |
| offset the consult codes. To give an example, you’ll | | | | CMS does not. |
| witness a 7 percent increase for 99214, with physician | | | | Tip: Cobuzzi has found the parts of the final MPFS |
| work RVUs rising to 1.50 from the 2009 rate of 1.42. | | | | that address consultations and put them in a handy |
| Although CMS is trying to make up for the moolah | | | | word document. This will certainly make an easier |
| practices will lose out on when they cannot submit | | | | read. |
| consultation codes, some practices will nevertheless | | | | |