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NEWS YOU CAN USE: New Pap Smear Diagnosis Codes for Low-Risk Patients

As of Oct. 1, in addition to code V76.2 (Cervix routine Papanicolaou smear), you'll now have two more diagnosis codes for reporting pap smears and pelvic exams in low-risk patients V76.47 (Special screening for malignant neoplasm, vagina) and V76.49 (Special screening for malignant neoplasm, other sites). Use the latter code for women with no cervix.

When drug-eluting stents are on the table, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) do business to the ticks of opposing clocks. Despite CMS' readiness to implement new G-codes and a new APC upon FDA approval of the stents, the FDA's recent go-ahead to one particular stent the Cypher Sirolimus-Eluting Coronary Stent produced by Cordis Corporation hasn't prompted CMS to put the codes or billing procedures into action. Keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming program memorandum (PM) though, because CMS will soon issue updated guidelines for the stents.


Revenue codes for implantable pass-through devices kick in Oct. 1, according to PM A-03-035 issued May 2. You'll need to match status indicator "H" items with certain codes which will no longer include 0274 and 0290. Instead, report implantable orthotic and prosthetic devices and implantable DME with 0278 (Other implants). Remember to add the right HCPCS code, because no HCPCS code means no reimbursement. Loads of other revenue codes minus HCPCS companions will be packaged and not separately paid, but will count toward outliers and transitional outpatient payments. To find out which are which, visit .

Interest rates for Medicare overpayments and underpayments shot up from 10.75 to 11.625 percent, according to PM AB-03 051, issued by CMS April 28, so mark your budgets until Aug. 31 or the next date of revision, whichever comes first.


Following an audit of fiscal year 1999, the HHS Office of the Inspector General believes Tampa General Hospital in Florida overstated its claims by $1.4 million, largely due to financial mishaps documenting organ acquisition. Their financial fiasco: overstating costs for kidney and liver acquisitions, and understating those for heart acquisitions. Other preventable problems the OIG discovered were improper allocation of employee benefits and unsupported claims for provider-based physician compensation.


As of May 31, you don't need an FDA OK to bill Medicare for mammography-related computer aided detection equipment (CAD), says CMS in PM AB-03-072 issued May 16. CAD digitizes film images and provides computer analysis of digital mammography. Report it with the add-on codes +76085 (Digitization of film radiographic images with computer analysis for lesion detection and further physician review [...]

- Published on 2003-05-01