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Consider reporting extended recovery time with revenue code 719

APCs Weekly Monitor, October 27, 2006

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Consider reporting extended recovery time with revenue code 719

QUESTION: With regards to charging extended recovery time on a nursing unit, Medicare has indicated that recovery time can only be charged if the area has been designated as a recovery area. Can you give specific Medicare guidelines that indicate otherwise?

ANSWER: There is no regulation that we could find with this information. Revenue code 710 typically indicates the separate ancillary department where post-anesthesia recovery services are rendered. We do not recommend using this revenue code for what is generally referred to as Phase II recovery on a nursing floor.

Revenue code 719 appears to be more appropriate for characterizing "other recovery services." Since this is only billed on outpatients, it is an appropriate method to report packaged services to Medicare. Refer to p. 65818 of the November 15, 2004, Federal Register, which states

When a revenue code charge is billed without an HCPCS code, the charge is reduced to cost using the appropriate CCR for the revenue code . . . This allows costs associated with uncoded revenue code charges to be captured so we can make a more accurate payment for the claim. If we did not add the costs of the line item revenue code charges without HCPCS codes, the full cost data for all resources necessary to deliver a separately payable service might not be captured, possibly resulting in a lesser payment for the claim.

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