Will Medicare require "C" codes in 2005?
APCs Weekly Monitor, October 1, 2004
Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to APCs Weekly Monitor!
Will Medicare require "C" codes in 2005?
Question - Is it true that Medicare will require "C" codes for implants and devices starting in 2005? Any word?
Answer - Beginning in 2005, CMS is proposing to require hospitals to bill device-dependent procedures using the appropriate "C" codes for the devices. See Table 20 ("Proposed Device Codes Required for Select Device-Dependent APCs") in the Federal Register published August 16, 2004.
CMS continues to require more outpatient data in order to construct future APC payments for high cost procedures with high cost implants/devices. In 2004, CMS strongly encouraged the reporting of "C" codes, and many hospitals heeded the recommendation and updated their chargemasters accordingly. If your facility is one that has not added the "C" codes to the appropriate items in your chargemaster, you should consider doing so this fall during your annual code review.
For 2005, CMS has taken the next step to require hospitals to report "C" codes information for a number of selected device-dependent APCs. This proposed requirement will help hospitals secure future APC reimbursement for device-dependent procedures.
Stay tuned for the finalization of the 2005 OPPS proposed rule sometime in November.
Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to APCs Weekly Monitor!
Related Products
-
Briefings on APCs
Worried about the complexities of the new rules under OPPS and APCs? Briefings on APCs helps you understand the new rules...
-
Medical Records Briefing
Guiding Health Information Management professionals through the continuously changing field of medical records and toward a...
-
Briefings on Coding Compliance Strategies
Submitting improper Medicare documentaion can lead to denial of fees, payback, fines, and increased diligence from payers...
-
Briefings on HIPAA
How can you minimize the impact of HIPAA? Subscribe to Briefings on HIPAA, your health information management resource for...
-
APC Answer Letter
Get this informative 8-page newsletter filled with answers to readers' questions!
Most Popular
- Articles
-
- Q/A: Billing telemetry daily monitoring
- Credentialing monthly: What is the role of the credentials committee in addressing unprofessional conduct?
- 2010 ICD-9 code updates now available online
- Master modifiers to ensure accurate reimbursement
- H1N1 hits Maine facility
- Radiologist indicted for fraudulently signing reports
- Don’t be scared into silence: Affiliation letter safeguards allow you to disclose more
- National Quality Forum creates standardized set of data for electronic health records
- New report reveals $47 billion in Medicare fraud
- Understand the H1N1 Flu and how to code it
- E-mailed
-
- Credentialing monthly: What is the role of the credentials committee in addressing unprofessional conduct?
- Q/A: Billing telemetry daily monitoring
- Radiologist indicted for fraudulently signing reports
- Revised MS.1.20 'huge improvement', out for comment again
- H1N1 hits Maine facility
- New report reveals $47 billion in Medicare fraud
- Briefings on Outpatient Rehab Reimbursement and Regulations, December 2009
- Hand hygiene rates improved through variety of reinforcement styles
- Press Ganey report: Patient satisfaction increasing across the country
- Residency Program Alert, December 2009
- Searched