Ob-Gyn Coding Alert

Question: I have a patient who delivered at 20 weeks. The baby lived briefly. I know I can charge the delivery fee, but should I use a modifier for reduced services?  Also, the ob-gyn performed a manual extraction of the placenta using a blunt curet. Should I charge for this separately or should I include it as part of the delivery?

Maine Subscriber
 
Answer: Yes, you should report the delivery using the appropriate code for the type of delivery (59400-59410, 59510-59515, 59610-59614, 59618-59622), but you should note that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) advises that you may want to add modifier -52 (Reduced services) if you are billing the global code and the ob-gyn performed very few antepartum visits. Do not lower your fee, however.
 
As for your second question, you should include the delivery of the placenta with the delivery codes, no matter what method the ob-gyn used.