Anesthesia Coding Alert

Have your documentation ready for reporting level P4 and higher. Physical status modifiers, also referred to as P modifiers, PS modifiers, ASAs or ASA P codes, are an important element of your anesthesia coding. If you don't use them correctly, you could dash your reimbursement opportunities, or risk a payer audit. Skip P Modifiers With Medicare, But Check Private Payers If your anesthesiologist works with a number of Medicare patients, you probably haven't spent much time learning the finer points of anesthesia's Physical Status Modifiers. Why? Because Medicare does not pay for them. End of story, right? Not if your practice contracts with private payers. Many private payers will often reimburse for P modifiers if you follow the guidelines. "Reporting is dependent on the carrier and can be dependent on whether the group negotiated for it in their contract. Most government payers do not allow reporting or payment of PS [...]