Psychiatry Coding & Reimbursement Alert

Published on Wed Oct 14, 2015 PDF

Question: I heard from somewhere that there are some new POS codes being introduced in 2016. Is this right, and can you tell me something about these codes and when they need to be used?

Michigan Subscriber

Answer: You heard correctly. In 2015, you use place of service (POS) code 22 for outpatient hospital services. Effective Jan. 1, 2016, and implemented Jan. 4, 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is revising POS code22 and adding new POS code 19 to better describe outpatient hospital settings, as follows:

POS 19 (Off Campus - Outpatient Hospital) — Descriptor: A portion of an off-campus hospital provider based department which provides diagnostic, therapeutic (both surgical and nonsurgical), and rehabilitation services to sick or injured persons who do not require hospitalization or institutionalization.

POS 22 (On Campus - Outpatient Hospital) — Descriptor: A portion of a hospital’s main campus which provides diagnostic, therapeutic (both surgical and nonsurgical), and rehabilitation services to sick or injured persons who do not require hospitalization or institutionalization.

Resource: Check out the MLN Matters article from CMS about the new POS codes at www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Education/Medicare-Learning-Network-MLN/MLNMattersArticles/Downloads/MM9231.pdf.