This article gives guidance for billing, coding, and other guidelines in relation to local coverage policy for L34084-Transcatheter Infusion Therapy.
General Guidelines for Claims submitted to Part A or Part B MAC:
Procedure codes may be subject to National Correct Coding Initiative (NCCI) edits or OPPS packaging edits. Refer to NCCI and OPPS requirements prior to billing Medicare. For services requiring a referring/ordering physician, the name and NPI of the referring/ordering physician must be reported on the claim. A claim submitted without a valid ICD-10-CM diagnosis code will be returned to the provider as an incomplete claim under Section 1833(e) of the Social Security Act. The diagnosis code(s) must best describe the patient's condition for which the service was performed. For diagnostic tests, report the result of the test if known; otherwise the symptoms prompting the performance of the test should be reported.
Advance Beneficiary Notice of Non-coverage (ABN) Modifier Guidelines
An ABN may be used for services which are likely to be non-covered, whether for medical necessity or for other reasons. Refer to CMS Publication 100-04, Medicare Claims Processing Manual, Chapter 30, for complete instructions.
Effective from April 1, 2010, non-covered services should be billed with modifier –GA, -GX, -GY, or –GZ, as appropriate.
The –GA modifier (“Waiver of Liability Statement Issued as Required by Payer Policy”) should be used when physicians, practitioners, or suppliers want to indicate that they anticipate that Medicare will deny a specific service as not reasonable and necessary and they do have an ABN signed by the beneficiary on file. Modifier GA applies only when services will be denied under reasonable and necessary provisions, sections 1862(a)(1), 1862(a)(9), 1879(e), or 1879(g) of the Social Security Act. Effective April 1, 2010, Part A MAC systems will automatically deny services billed with modifier GA. An ABN, Form CMS-R-131, should be signed by the beneficiary to indicate that he/she accepts responsibility for payment. The -GA modifier may also be used on assigned claims when a patient refuses to sign the ABN and the latter is properly witnessed. For claims submitted to the Part A MAC, occurrence code 32 and the date of the ABN is required.
Modifier GX (“Notice of Liability Issued, Voluntary Under Payer Policy”) should be used when the beneficiary has signed an ABN, and a denial is anticipated based on provisions other than medical necessity, such as statutory exclusions of coverage or technical issues. An ABN is not required for these denials, but if non-covered services are reported with modifier GX, will automatically be denied services.
The –GZ modifier should be used when physicians, practitioners, or suppliers want to indicate that they expect that Medicare will deny an item or service as not reasonable and necessary and they have not had an ABN signed by the beneficiary. If the service is statutorily non-covered, or without a benefit category, submit the appropriate CPT/HCPCS code with the -GY modifier. An ABN is not required for these denials, and the limitation of liability does not apply for beneficiaries. Services with modifier GY will automatically deny.
Documentation Requirements
The patient’s medical record should include but is not limited to:
- The assessment of the patient by the ordering provider as it relates to the complaint of the patient for that visit,
- Relevant medical history
- Results of pertinent tests/procedures
- Signed and dated office visit record/operative report (Please note that all services ordered or rendered to Medicare beneficiaries must be signed.)
Only one unit of 61650 should be billed for any service. Additional “vascular beds” are billed with 61651. The duration of infusion(s) does not effect billing units.
CPT codes 61650 and 61651 is reimbursable only once per encounter, regardless of the number of medications infused or duration of the infusion beyond 30 minutes.
Chemotherapy, embolism and thrombolysis are covered under separate codes and should not be coded by 61650 and 61651.
The medical records should specify the medication(s) infused and dosage(s), the starting and ending time of the infusion, the route of administration of the medication, the vessel into which the medication was infused, and the medical indications for the procedure.
Documentation must be available to Medicare upon request.
CPT code 37202 is reimbursable only once per encounter, regardless of the number of medications infused or duration of the infusion beyond 30 minutes. Services exceeding this parameter will be considered not medically necessary.
For claims submitted to the Part B MAC:
All services/procedures performed on the same day for the same beneficiary by the physician/provider should be billed on the same claim.
Claims for patients treated for cerebrovasospasm, bleeding involving the head or neck, gastrointestinal hemorrhage and non-occlusive mesenteric ischemia may only be billed for place of service inpatient hospital (21).
Claims for patients treated for Raynaud’s syndrome may be billed in places of service office (11), inpatient hospital (21), outpatient hospital (22), ambulatory surgical center (24) and independent clinic (49).
The infused drug may be billed only in places of service office (11) and independent clinic (49).
The infused drug and the infusion procedure (61650/61651) must be billed on the same claim.
For claims submitted to the Part A MAC:
Hospital Inpatient Claims:
- The hospital should report the patient's principal diagnosis in Form Locator (FL) 67 of the UB-04. The principal diagnosis is the condition established after study to be chiefly responsible for this admission.
- The hospital enters ICD-10-CM codes for up to eight additional conditions in FLs 67A-67Q if they co-existed at the time of admission or developed subsequently, and which had an effect upon the treatment or the length of stay. It may not duplicate the principal diagnosis listed in FL 67.
- For inpatient hospital claims, the admitting diagnosis is required and should be recorded in FL 69. (See CMS Publication 100-04, Medicare Claims Processing Manual, Chapter 25, Section 75 for additional instructions.)
- Hospital Outpatient Claims:
- The hospital should report the full ICD-10-CM code for the diagnosis shown to be chiefly responsible for the outpatient services in FL 67. If no definitive diagnosis is made during the outpatient evaluation, the patient's symptom is reported. If the patient arrives without a referring diagnosis, symptom or complaint, the provider should report an ICD-10-CM code for Persons Without Reported Diagnosis Encountered During Examination and Investigation of Individuals and Populations (Z00.00-Z13.9).
- The hospital enters the full ICD-10-CM codes in FLs 67A-67Q for up to eight other diagnoses that co-existed in addition to the diagnosis reported in FL 67.
For dates of service prior to April 1, 2010, FQHC services should be reported with bill type 73X. For dates of service on or after April 1, 2010, bill type 77X should be used to report FQHC services.
Other Comments:
For claims submitted to the Part A MAC: This coverage determination also applies within states outside the primary geographic jurisdiction with facilities that have nominated CGS to process their claims.
Bill type codes only apply to providers who bill these services to the Part A MAC. Bill type codes do not apply to physicians, other professionals and suppliers who bill these services to the carrier or Part B MAC.
Limitation of liability and refund requirements apply when denials are likely, whether based on medical necessity or other coverage reasons. The provider/supplier must notify the beneficiary in writing, prior to rendering the service, if the provider/supplier is aware that the test, item or procedure may not be covered by Medicare. The limitation of liability and refund requirements do not apply when the test, item or procedure is statutorily excluded, has no Medicare benefit category or is rendered for screening purposes.
