Pulmonology Coding Alert

Question: Our pulmonologist is insisting that we bill 31622 two times for a patient on whom the two procedures were done in the same day. I am not able to understand how we can do this, as 31622 has a Medically Unlikely Edit (MUE) number of 1, which means that we can bill the procedure only once in a day.Nevada SubscriberAnswer: You are right in your assessment that 31622 (Bronchoscopy, rigid or flexible, including fluoroscopic guidance, when performed; diagnostic, with cell washing, when performed [separate procedure]) carries a Medically Unlikely Edit number 1; that means you cannot bill the procedure more than once in a day under most circumstances.However, CMS provides guidelines for bypassing MUE edits that state that you can append an appropriate modifier to the same CPT® code on more than one line of the claim form. So by appending the appropriate modifier, when medically necessary, you can [...]