Local Coverage Determination (LCD)

B-type Natriuretic Peptide (BNP) Testing

L33943

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Proposed LCD
Proposed LCDs are works in progress that are available on the Medicare Coverage Database site for public review. Proposed LCDs are not necessarily a reflection of the current policies or practices of the contractor.

Document Note

Note History

Contractor Information

LCD Information

Document Information

Source LCD ID
N/A
LCD ID
L33943
Original ICD-9 LCD ID
Not Applicable
LCD Title
B-type Natriuretic Peptide (BNP) Testing
Proposed LCD in Comment Period
N/A
Source Proposed LCD
N/A
Original Effective Date
For services performed on or after 10/01/2015
Revision Effective Date
For services performed on or after 12/07/2023
Revision Ending Date
N/A
Retirement Date
N/A
Notice Period Start Date
N/A
Notice Period End Date
N/A

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Issue

Issue Description

No changes, annual review.

Issue - Explanation of Change Between Proposed LCD and Final LCD

CMS National Coverage Policy

Language quoted from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), National Coverage Determinations (NCDs) and coverage provisions in interpretive manuals is italicized throughout the policy. NCDs and coverage provisions in interpretive manuals are not subject to the Local Coverage Determination (LCD) Review Process (42 CFR 405.860[b] and 42 CFR 426 [Subpart D]). In addition, an administrative law judge may not review an NCD. See Section 1869(f)(1)(A)(i) of the Social Security Act.

Unless otherwise specified, italicized text represents quotation from one or more of the following CMS sources:

Title XVIII of the Social Security Act (SSA):

Section 1862(a)(1)(A) excludes expenses incurred for items or services which are not reasonable and necessary for the diagnosis or treatment of illness or injury or to improve the functioning of a malformed body member.

Section 1833(e) prohibits Medicare payment for any claim which lacks the necessary information to process the claim.

Code of Federal Regulations:

42 CFR Section 410.32 indicates that diagnostic tests may only be ordered by treating physician (or other treating practitioner acting within the scope of his or her license and Medicare requirements) who furnishes a consultation or treats a beneficiary for a specific medical problem and who uses the results in the management of the beneficiary's specific medical problem. Tests not ordered by the physician (or other qualified non-physician provider) who is treating the beneficiary are not reasonable and necessary (see Sec. 411.15(k)(1) of this chapter).




Coverage Guidance

Coverage Indications, Limitations, and/or Medical Necessity

Abstract:

B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is a cardiac neurohormone produced mainly in the left ventricle. It is secreted in response to ventricular volume expansion and pressure overload, factors often found in congestive heart failure (CHF). Used in conjunction with other clinical information, rapid measurement of BNP is useful in establishing or excluding the diagnosis and assessing the severity of CHF in patients with acute dyspnea so that appropriate and timely treatment can be initiated. This test is also used to predict the long-term risk of cardiac events or death across the spectrum of acute coronary syndromes when measured in the first few days after an acute coronary event. For the purposes of this policy, either total or N-terminal assays are acceptable. This policy documents CGS indications and limitations of coverage for BNP testing.

Indications:

BNP measurements may be considered reasonable and necessary when used in combination with other medical data such as medical history, physical examination, laboratory studies, chest x-ray, and electrocardiography:

  • To distinguish cardiac cause of acute dyspnea from pulmonary or other non-cardiac causes. Plasma BNP levels are significantly increased in patients with CHF presenting with acute dyspnea compared with patients presenting with acute dyspnea due to other causes.
  • To distinguish decompensated CHF from exacerbated chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in a symptomatic patient with combined chronic CHF and COPD. Plasma BNP levels are significantly increased in patients with CHF with or without concurrent lung disease compared with patients who have primary lung disease.
  • As a risk stratification tool (to assess risk of death, myocardial infarction or congestive heart failure) among patients with acute coronary syndrome (myocardial infarction with or without T-wave elevation and unstable angina). Obtained in the first few days after the onset of ischemic symptoms, results of BNP measurement can provide useful information.


Limitations:

BNP measurements must be analyzed in conjunction with standard diagnostic tests, medical history and clinical findings. The efficacy of BNP measurement as a stand-alone test has not yet been established. Clinicians should be aware that certain conditions such as ischemia, infarction and renal insufficiency, may cause elevation of circulating BNP concentration and require alterations of the interpretation of BNP results.

Additional investigation is required to further define the diagnostic value of plasma BNP in monitoring the efficiency of treatment for CHF and in tailoring the therapy for heart failure. Therefore, BNP measurements for monitoring and management of CHF are not a covered service.

Although a correlation between serum BNP levels and the clinical severity of HF has been shown in broad populations, “it cannot be assumed that BNP levels can be used effectively as targets for adjustment of therapy in individual patients. [T]he BNP measurement has not been clearly shown to supplement careful clinical assessment.” (Hunt SA, Abraham WT, Chin MH, et al. ACC/AHA 2005 Guideline Update for the Diagnosis and Management of Chronic Heart Failure in the Adult: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines, pgs. 14-15)


Summary of Evidence

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Analysis of Evidence (Rationale for Determination)

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Proposed Process Information

Synopsis of Changes
Changes Fields Changed
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Associated Information
Sources of Information
Bibliography
Open Meetings
Meeting Date Meeting States Meeting Information
N/A
Contractor Advisory Committee (CAC) Meetings
Meeting Date Meeting States Meeting Information
N/A
MAC Meeting Information URLs
N/A
Proposed LCD Posting Date
Comment Period Start Date
Comment Period End Date
Reason for Proposed LCD
Requestor Information
This request was MAC initiated.
Requestor Name Requestor Letter
View Letter
N/A
Contact for Comments on Proposed LCD

Coding Information

Bill Type Codes

Code Description

Please accept the License to see the codes.

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Revenue Codes

Code Description

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N/A

CPT/HCPCS Codes

Please accept the License to see the codes.

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ICD-10-CM Codes that Support Medical Necessity

Group 1

Group 1 Paragraph:

N/A

Group 1 Codes:

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ICD-10-CM Codes that DO NOT Support Medical Necessity

Group 1

Group 1 Paragraph:

N/A

Group 1 Codes:

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Additional ICD-10 Information

General Information

Associated Information
N/A
Sources of Information
This bibliography presents those sources that were obtained during the development of this policy. CGS is not responsible for the continuing viability of Web site addresses listed below.

Bibbin-Domingo K, Ansari M, Schiller N, Massie B, Whooley M. Is B-type natriuretic peptide a useful screening test for systolic dysfunction in patients with coronary disease? Data from the Heart and Soul Study. Am J Med. 2004;116(8):561-563.

Cowie M, Jourdain P, Maisel A, et al. Clinical applications of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) testing. European Heart Journal. 2003;24:1710-1718. http://www.westershopsitals.nhs.uk/WHC/archive/evidence/05%20hf/BNP%20clinical%20appicatoins-EHJ%202003.pdf. Accessed April 5, 2005.

Dao Q, Krishnaswamy P, Kazanegra R, et al. Utility of B-type natriuretic peptide in the diagnosis of congestive heart failure in an urgent-care setting. J AM Coll Cardiol. 2001;37(2):379-385.

deLemos J, Morrow D, Bentley J, et al. The prognostic value of B-type natriuretic peptide in patients with acute coronary syndromes. N Engl J Med. 2001;345(14):1014-1021.

Hunt SA, Abraham WT, Chin MH, et al. ACC/AHA 2005 guideline update for the diagnosis and management of chronic heart failure in the adult: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines (Writing Committee to Update the 2001 Guidelines for the Evaluation and Management of Heart Failure). http://www.acc.org/clinical/guidelines/failure/index.pdf. Accessed: October 7, 2005.

Kuster G, Tanner H, Printzen G, Suter T, Mohacsi P, Hess O. B-type natriuretic peptide for diagnosis and treatment of congestive heart failure. Swiss Med Wkly. 2003;133:623-628. http://www.smw.ch/pdf200x/2002/43/smw-10081.pdf. Accessed April 5, 2005.

Latini R, Masson S, Wong M, et. al. Incremental prognostic value of changes in B-type natriuretic peptide in heart failure. American Journal of Medicine, 2006;119(1):70e24-70.

Lubien E, DeMaria A, Krishnaswamy P, et al. Utility of B-natriuretic peptide in detecting diastolic dysfunction: comparison with Doppler velocity recordings. Circulation. 2002;105(5):595-601.

Maisel A, Clopton P, Krishnaswamy P, et al. Impact of age, race, and sex on the ability of B-type natriuretic peptide to aid in the emergency diagnosis of heart failure: results from the Breathing Not Properly (BNP) multinational study. Am Heart J. 2004;147(6):1078-1084.

Maisel A, Hollander J, Guss D, McCullough P, et al. Primary results of the Rapid Emergency Department Heart Failure Outpatient Trial (REDHOT). A multicenter study of B-type natriuretic peptide levels, emergency department decision making, and outcomes in patients presenting with shortness of breath. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2004;44(6):1328-1333.

Maisel A, Krishnaswamy P, Nowak R, et al. Rapid measurement of B-type natriuretic peptide in the emergency diagnosis of heart failure. N Engl J Med. 2002;347(3):161-167.

Mak G, DeMaria A, Clopton P, Maisel A. Utility of B-natriuretic peptide in the evaluation of left ventricular diastolic function: comparison with tissue Doppler imaging recordings. Am Heart J. 2004;148(5):895-902.

McCullough P, Nowak R, McCord J, et al. B-type natriuretic peptide and clinical judgment in emergency diagnosis of heart failure: analysis from Breathing Not Properly (BNP) Multinational Study. Circulation. 2002;106(4):416-422.

Morrison L, Harrison A, Krishnaswamy P, Kazanegra R, Clopton P, Maisel A. Utility of a rapid B-natriuretic peptide assay in differentiating congestive heart failure from lung disease in patients presenting with dyspnea. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2002;39(2):202-209.

Other Medicare contractor policy: Florida fiscal intermediary (L14340); New York carriers (L13097, L13522, L13889)

Wieczorek S, Wu A, Christenson R, et al. A rapid B-type natriuretic peptide assay accurately diagnoses left ventricular dysfunction and heart failure: a multicenter evaluation. Am Heart J. 2002;144(5):834-839.

Wu A, Omland T, Duc P, et al. The effect of diabetes on B-type natriuretic peptide concentrations in patients with acute dyspnea: an analysis from the Breathing Not Properly (BNP) Multinational Study. http://care.diabetesjournals.org/cgi/content/full/27/10/2398. Accessed April 7, 2005.

Young J, Supplement Ed and Roundtable Moderator. Testing for B-type natriuretic peptide in the diagnosis and assessment of heart failure: what are the nuances? Cleve Clin J Med. 2004;71(Supplement 5):S1-S17. http://www.ccjm.org/toc/BNP.htm. Accessed April 5, 2005.

References added 02/01/2009

Logeart D, Thabut G, Jopurdain P et al. Predischarge B-type Natriuretic peptide assay for identifying patients at high risk of re-admission after decompensated heart failure. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2004;43(4):635-641.

Mueller C, Scholer A, Laul-Kilian K et al. Use of B-type Natriuretic peptide in the evaluation and management of acute dyspnea. N Engl J Med. 2004 350(7)647-654.

O’Connor CM, Gattis Strough W, Gallup DS, Hasselblad V, Gheorghaiade M. Demographic, clinical characteristics, and outcomes of patients hospitalized for decompensated heart failure: observations from the IMPACT-HF registry. J Card Fail. 2005;11(3):200-2005.

Philbin EF, Rocco TA, Lindenmuth NV, Ulrich K, Jenkins PL. Clinical outcomes in heart failure: report from a community hospital-based registry. Am J Med. 1999;107:549-555.
Bibliography

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Revision History Information

Revision History Date Revision History Number Revision History Explanation Reasons for Change
12/07/2023 R15

R15

Revision Effective: 12/07/2023

Revision Explanation: Annual Review, no changes were made.

11/29/2023: At this time 21st Century Cures Act will apply to new and revised LCDs that restrict coverage which requires comment and notice. This revision is not a restriction to the coverage determination; and, therefore not all the fields included on the LCD are applicable as noted in this policy.

  • Other
12/01/2022 R14

R14

Revision Effective: 12/01/2022

Revision Explanation: Annual Review, no changes were made.

11/23/2022 :At this time 21st Century Cures Act will apply to new and revised LCDs that restrict coverage which requires comment and notice. This revision is not a restriction to the coverage determination; and, therefore not all the fields included on the LCD are applicable as noted in this policy.

  • Other (Annual Review)
11/25/2021 R13

R13

Revision Effective: 11/25/2021

Revision Explanation: Annual Review, no changes were made.

11/19/2021 :At this time 21st Century Cures Act will apply to new and revised LCDs that restrict coverage which requires comment and notice. This revision is not a restriction to the coverage determination; and, therefore not all the fields included on the LCD are applicable as noted in this policy.

  • Other (Annual Review)
11/28/2019 R12

R12

Revision Effective: N/A

Revision Explanation: Annual Review, no changes made

11/16/2020 :At this time 21st Century Cures Act will apply to new and revised LCDs that restrict coverage which requires comment and notice. This revision is not a restriction to the coverage determination; and, therefore not all the fields included on the LCD are applicable as noted in this policy.

  • Other (Annual Review)
11/28/2019 R11

R11

Revision Effective: N/A

Revision Explanation: Annual Review, no changes made

11/25/2019:At this time 21st Century Cures Act will apply to new and revised LCDs that restrict coverage which requires comment and notice. This revision is not a restriction to the coverage determination; and, therefore not all the fields included on the LCD are applicable as noted in this policy.

  • Other (Annual review, no changes made)
11/28/2019 R10

R10

Revision Effective: 11/28/2019

Revision Explanation: Removed the following regulations from CMS National policy section and placed in related billing and coding article:

CMS Publication 100-04, Medicare Claims Processing Manual, Chapter 9: 100 General Billing Requirements; and

CMS Publication.100-04, Medicare Claims Processing Manual, Transmittal No. 820, Change Request #4210, dated 2/1/2006, changes the revenue codes both RHCs and FQHCs use when billing for RHC/FQHC services.

Moved other comments and associated information from policy and placed in related billing and coding article.

11/19/2019:At this time 21st Century Cures Act will apply to new and revised LCDs that restrict coverage which requires comment and notice. This revision is not a restriction to the coverage determination; and, therefore not all the fields included on the LCD are applicable as noted in this policy.

 

  • Provider Education/Guidance
09/19/2019 R9

R9

Revision Effective: 09/19/2019 Revision Explanation: Converted policy into new policy template that no longer includes coding section based on CR 10901. For Approval, no changes.

09/13/2019:At this time 21st Century Cures Act will apply to new and revised LCDs that restrict coverage which requires comment and notice. This revision is not a restriction to the coverage determination; and, therefore not all the fields included on the LCD are applicable as noted in this policy.

  • Revisions Due To Code Removal
09/19/2019 R8

R8

Revision Effective: 09/19/2019 Revision Explanation: Converted policy into new policy template that no longer includes coding section based on CR 10901.

09/12/2019:At this time 21st Century Cures Act will apply to new and revised LCDs that restrict coverage which requires comment and notice. This revision is not a restriction to the coverage determination; and, therefore not all the fields included on the LCD are applicable as noted in this policy.

  • Revisions Due To Code Removal
03/28/2019 R7

R7

Revision Effective date: March 28, 2019

Revision Explanation: Removed all coding from policy based on CR 10901. Attached article for billing and coding can be found at the article below.

03/22/2019-At this time 21st Century Cures Act will apply to new and revised LCDs that restrict coverage which requires comment and notice. This revision is not a restriction to the coverage determination; and, therefore not all the fields included on the LCD are applicable as noted in this policy.

  • Other (Removed coding )
10/01/2015 R6

R6

Revision Effective date: N/A

Revision Explanation: Annual review no changes

11/26/2018-At this time 21st Century Cures Act will apply to new and revised LCDs that restrict coverage which requires comment and notice. This revision is not a restriction to the coverage determination; and, therefore not all the fields included on the LCD are applicable as noted in this policy.

  • Other (Annual review)
10/01/2015 R5

Revision#:R5
Revision Effective date: N/A
Revision Explanation: annual review no changes

11/28/2017-At this time 21st Century Cures Act will apply to new and revised LCDs that restrict coverage which requires comment and notice. This revision is not a restriction to the coverage determination; and, therefore not all the fields included on the LCD are applicable as noted in this policy.

  • Other (annual review)
10/01/2015 R4 Revision#:R4
Revision Effective date: N/A
Revision Explanation: annual review no changes
  • Other (Annual Review)
10/01/2015 R3 R3
Revision Effective: N/A
Revision Explanation: Annual review no changes made.
  • Other (Annual review)
10/01/2015 R2 R2
Revision Effective: N/A
Revision Explanation: Accepting revenue code description code changes
  • Other (revenue code description changes)
10/01/2015 R1 R1
Reveision Effective: 10/01/2014
Revision Expalanation: Removed ICD-9 refernece in first group fo payable ICD-10 codes.
  • Typographical Error
N/A

Associated Documents

Attachments
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Related National Coverage Documents
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Public Versions
Updated On Effective Dates Status
11/29/2023 12/07/2023 - N/A Currently in Effect You are here
11/23/2022 12/01/2022 - 12/06/2023 Superseded View
Some older versions have been archived. Please visit the MCD Archive Site to retrieve them.

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