Health Information Management

Q&A: Can we still use modifier -JF?

APCs Insider, August 21, 2015

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Q: What happened to modifier –JF (compounded drug)? CMS added it in April, but I’ve been told by our billing department that it’s been removed.
 
A: CMS deleted modifier -JF (compounded drug) effective July 1, just three months after activating it in the previous quarterly I/OCE update.
 
CMS added modifier -JF following an Office of Inspector General (OIG) report in 2014 that noted the agency and MACs could not track the number of claims or amount paid for compounded drugs under Medicare Part B. OIG recommended that CMS implement a way to collect more information on these drugs to distinguish them from other drugs that may be reported under "not otherwise classified" (NOC) codes.
 
CMS also added HCPCS code Q9977 (compounded drug NOC) effective July 1. Previously, Q9977 was assigned status indicator N (no additional payment, payment included in line items with APCs for incidental service).
 
For more information, see CMS Transmittal 3264.
 
Editor’s note: Denise Williams, RN, CPC-H, senior vice president of revenue integrity services at Revant Solutions, formerly known as Health Revenue Assurance Associates, Inc., in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, answered this question.

 



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