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New Medical Billing Intracranial Codes are Not reimbursable

New Medical Billing Intracranial Codes are Not reimbursable

Published by: Melissa Clark, CCS-P on January 6, 2006

New Medical Billing Intracranial Codes are Not reimbursable

Although a procedure works to heal a patient, it may not work when doing medical billing. There are many medical billing procedure codes in which the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will not pay. Perhaps the most shocking group is the intracranial surgery codes group. These medical billing codes have proven to be very effective in treating patients, but not so effective for payment.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is still rejecting payment for the medical billing current procedural terminology codes 61630-61642. These are intracranial procedure codes that portray procedures such as micro catheters for intracranial vessels. These procedures have been shown as very affective when treating patients with atherosclerotic strictures or vasospasms.

Unfortunately, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services still see these medical billing codes and procedures as experimental and investigational. One reason they hold back payment for these types of medical billing codes is to protect the patient. If a procedure is still being investigated and not found to be ultimately safe, payment may be held back to deter surgeons and physicians from performing it.

The Intracranial procedures, however, have proven themselves to be very reliable. These medical billing procedures have been done for many years with positive results for the patients.

At this point, the only thing CMS has accomplished in the denial of these intracranial medical billing codes is physician hoop jumping. These procedures are still being paid for, just with different codes. The current procedural terminology codes 61630-61642 are the most descriptive medical billing codes for the intracranial procedures. However, physicians will do what ever is necessary to get their bills paid while helping their patients at the same time. Intracranial procedures are here to stay, and so should their medical billing codes.

Published by: on January 6, 2006

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