Wiki How to charge for end of life discussion?

vshubert

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Loudon, TN
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I am trying to file a claim for an inpatient hospital follow up (99232) and include in claim that the provider also had end of life discussion included at same time. I am not sure how to code for this and what modifier I would need to use. And also how often can you charge for end of life discussion. Please advise.
 
Good grief! Does every detail have to be charged for?? What happened to the idea that doctors became doctors to help people and not just to get rich? There is a reason Medicare has put limits on what they will pay for and I tend to agree with them; there needs to be a show of compassion when caring for people rather than an all out effort to add to ones bank account. Maybe this job won't work for me after all.
 
Good grief! Does every detail have to be charged for?? What happened to the idea that doctors became doctors to help people and not just to get rich? There is a reason Medicare has put limits on what they will pay for and I tend to agree with them; there needs to be a show of compassion when caring for people rather than an all out effort to add to ones bank account. Maybe this job won't work for me after all.

You may be right.

I happen to think my boss should get paid for 30 minutes spent with a patient and their family making decisions about end-of-life care. If he has ten patients in the hospital, and they are all elderly, and they have this discussion, fill out forms, make plans, that's five hours he is not paid for otherwise. The code for the first 30 minutes, 99497, pays $82.03 in the hospital or $88.98 in the office in my town. If you think anyone is getting rich on $164 per hour of physician time, then yes, you may want to rethink your career decisions.
 
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