Part B Insider (Multispecialty) Coding Alert
HCPCS Code G0101 No Longer Includes Mandatory Breast Check
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Plus: CMS reports high MAC satisfaction rate, and Medicare creates new hurdles for handling your questions
CMS recently released transmittal 1541, which notes that practitioners are unclear regarding which elements are required to bill G0101 (Cervical or vaginal cancer screening; pelvic and clinical breast examination).
To clarify the issue, CMS indicates that practitioners must perform seven of the 11 possible elements, one of which is a breast exam.
To read the full transmittal, visit http://www.cms.hhs.gov/Transmittals/downloads/R1541CP.pdf.
In other news ...
• Doubts over whether dealing with Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) would be effective may have been unfounded, according to a newly-released CMS report.
An Aug. 27 CMS press release indicated that providers are satisfied with the MACs, based on responses to a CMS poll.
Medicare's handling of provider inquiries was the top indicator of satisfaction, followed by claims processing.
For more on the program, go online to the CMS Web site at http://www.cms.hhs.gov.
• If you have a question for your contractor or CMS, get ready for some more red tape.
CMS and Medicare contractors soon will require you to provide three data elements before proceeding: your National Provider Iden- tifier (NPI) number, your Provider Transaction Access Number (PTAN), and the last five digits of your tax ID number, CMS says in a newly revised MLN Matters article.
Three strikes and you're out: "You will only be allowed three attempts to correctly provide your NPI, PTAN and last 5-digits of your TIN," CMS stresses in the article.
The change will take place in March 2009, CMS notes in Aug. 8 Transmittal No. 6139.
To read the complete transmittal, visit the CMS Web site a www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/MM6139.pdf.
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HCPCS Code G0101 No Longer Includes Mandatory Breast Check
Plus: CMS reports high MAC satisfaction rate, and Medicare creates new hurdles for handling your questionsIf [...]