Pain Management Coding Alert
Reader Question:
Narrow Bupivacaine HCl Injection Choices to S0020 and J3490
Published on Tue Dec 29, 2015 
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Question: What is the best HCPCS code for a bupivacaine HCI injection (10 mL, single dose)? I know the generic name is Sensorcaine, but haven’t found coding information during my research.
Vermont Subscriber
Answer: The two potential codes for this scenario are S0020 (Injection, bupivicaine hydrochloride, 30 ml) or J3490 (Unclassified drugs). With that said, many payers do not allow separate payment for any local anesthetic. The only exception would be if the bupivacaine was used as a compounded refill for an implantable infusion pump. Then Medicare and many other commercial payers do allow coverage for the local anesthetic but not in other uses.
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