Listserv Lately 19
by Suzan Hvizdash, CPC, CRN Senior Auditor, Instructor
Now back into full swing, the list was a little livelier the past few weeks.
We had a lot of different “types” of discussions. All, as always, very informative! One thing that I’ve started doing more regularly, that I would recommend, is reading some of the posts that are totally unrelated to what you are currently doing. This is advantageous from many different angles. The first and most obvious one is you get to learn new things about unfamiliar topics. You also see what those in other areas are dealing with and the issues that are coming up for them. Second, the conversation may lead down a road to where you are familiar and can interject your thoughts on common issues. It’s really interesting what I’ve been picking up lately by watching the other conversations.
That said, I watched the familiar subject of E/M scoring through the thread headed NHIC Medicare Training. A poster had attended a training session that was very informative and wanted to share. From there we discussed the scoring sheets of the many carriers around the country. Many of us have seen the various score sheets that the carriers use and have also noticed how different they all are. Barbara posted on the CRN a MedLearn Matters site that is quite helpful. Here is the link to Evaluation & Management Services Guide.
Other conversations included talk of Cord Blood Collection. It was suggested to use code 59899. Many commercial payers won’t pay for this, however, one poster indicated that ViaCord would pay $100 if the insurance company doesn’t. Very interesting!!
Can coblation instrumentation cost be recovered when billing a tonsillectomy? The tools are expensive, according to the poster, however, the insurance companies don’t usually cover the additional costs incurred by using this technique, which can be done either to shrink the tonsils or to remove them.
Other coding questions that came up over the last two weeks involved Williams Syndrome and the appropriate ICD-9 code (759.89) for that disease. Questions were also raised regarding the billing of Procrit ® , Consultations, Anesthesia and Pin Removal.
What about coding for contraceptive counseling? The code 99401 could be used, but you may want to check to see if the patient’s insurance covers such counseling, per one of the posters.
Amongst the posts we had a poster warn all contact lens wears about a recall of Bausch and Lomb ® products (We’re always looking out for each other!!).
And there was even talk of an insurance company's CEO salary that had been reported on television a few weeks ago.
We really do talk about a lot of interesting things. If you aren’t already reaping the benefits of the list, try it out!
Joining the list serve: $0
Asking questions on the list serve: $0
Reading your bi-weekly CRN newsletter: $0
Advice received on the list serve: Priceless
The value of reading your bi-weekly CRN newsletter: Priceless
Until next time,
-- Suzan