Part B Insider (Multispecialty) Coding Alert
CARDIOVASCULAR TESTS COVERED EVERY 5 YEARS
Published on Sat Aug 07, 2004 
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Starting January 1, the Medicare Modernization Act also calls for Medicare to cover cardiovascular screening blood tests to detect cardiovascular disease or abnormalities that indicate a higher risk for that disease. These screens will include cholesterol tests and other tests for lipid or triglycerides levels.
Medicare will start covering these tests every five years, using CPT codes 82465 (Cholesterol, serum or whole blood, total), 83718 (Lipoprotein, direct measurement; high density cholesterol [HDL cholesterol]), 84478 (Triglycerides) and 80061 (Lipid panel). Diagnosis codes should come from the V81.0-V81.2 screening section.
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