Neurosurgery Coding Alert

Question: I have heard that HCPCS was releasing a new code for kyphoplasty this year. What is the code, and how should we report initial and subsequent levels to my Medicare carrier?

Missouri Subscriber Answer: HCPCS 2004 introduced two new kyphoplasty codes, but Medicare did not assign any relative value units (RVUs) to the codes. You should, therefore, report these codes only to private payers that recognize them:

 S2362 - Kyphoplasty, one vertebral body, unilateral or bilateral injection
S2363 - ... each additional vertebral body (list separately in addition to code for primary procedure). If you're reporting kyphoplasty to Medicare, you should continue to use the code for unlisted spine procedures (22899).

And, you should submit the operative report (or use the "Comment" field of the claim form) to describe the procedure performed and how many levels were addressed.