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Neurosurgery Coding Alert

You Be the Coder:

Coding Add-on Procedures

Published on Sat Jan 01, 2000

Test your coding knowledge. Determine how you would code this situation before looking at the box below for the answer.



Question: We have had several patients require a laminectomy to be performed with additional levels. The codes 63035 (each additional interspace, cervical or lumbar) or 63048 (each additional segment, cervical, thoracic, or lumbar) were used with modifier -51 (multiple procedures) and our claims were denied. How should we properly code for these add-on procedures?

Anonymous Oregon Subscriber


Answer: The codes 63035 and 63048 are both described as add-on codes in CPT 2000. Tanya Moszer, RN, a neurosurgery reimbursement specialist from Bismarck, N.D., says that modifiers should not be attached to add-on codes.

Although the codes are correctly used in the readers example, no modifiers should be attached to them. Modifier -51 can be used only when multiple procedures, other than evaluation and management services, are performed at the same session by the same provider.

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