Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/274954
14 12th Annual Spine, Orthopedic and Pain Management-Driven ASC Conference + The Future of Spine - call (800) 417-2035 AnticipAte chAnge. We do. 2013 ® 636.273.6711 | www.nationalASCbilling.com the ASc Revenue cycle. It's all we do. It's all we think about. And it shows. Named one of the world's best outsourcing service providers two years in a row. – Fortune Magazine 2013 During Flushing After Flushing Recover from poor bowel prep with the MEDIVATORS ™ JET PREP ™ Endoscopic Flushing Device. Remove stool, debris and frustration while improving colon visibility and polyp detection. NOT SEEING CLEARLY? JET PREP ™ Endoscopic Flushing Device in Action JET PREP ™ Endoscopic Flushing Device in Action Your Best Practice is Our Promise. E N D O S C O P Y P R O C E D U R E • E N D O S C O P Y R E P R O C E S S I N G MEDIVATORS.COM © 2014 MEDIVATORS Inc. P/N 50098-480/A MEDIVATORS ™ is a trademark of MEDIVATORS Inc. JET PREP ™ is a trademark of Jet Prep Ltd. C M Y CM MY CY CMY K Jet prep ad-Becker.pdf 1 2/19/14 2:14 PM A ccording to Medicare, as of January 1, 2014, "ASCs should not re- port separate line item Healthcare Common Procedure Coding Sys- tem codes or charges for items that are packaged into payment for covered surgical procedures and therefore not paid separately….ASCs are encouraged to not submit line items for packaged services." Approximately 210 new procedure codes have been given N1 status by Medi- care for 2014, most of which were paid separately until this year. This new regulation strictly applies to the ASC and not the physician, and only for pa- tients who are covered by Medicare. Currently, many of the commercial car- riers have not followed suit and continue to reimburse the additional codes based upon previous guidelines. It still remains too soon to tell whether the commercial sector will continue with the same reimbursement procedures or if they will be required to abide by the new Medicare guidelines in the future. With differing opinions on how these codes should be reported, discourse within the coding community has been diverse and perplexing. Some be- lieve the codes should be reported with a $0 charge associated with them for tracking purposes while others think that the codes should be omitted entirely since they are to be included with the initial procedure. There are some coding auditors who will actually issue a coding error if the new N1 codes are reported. Without clear and concise guidelines, ASC coders are uncertain what to report in order to remain compliant. In addition, tracking and demographics could be inconsistent if the new N1 codes are omitted. If a procedure is not reported on an EOB because it won't be reimbursed, is this considered en- tirely accurate? Many coders contemplate how the physician will be able to track the procedures performed in the ASC if some of those procedure codes are in fact omitted. Many patients have dif- ficulty interpreting an EOB already and this may only further exacerbate that confusion, especially when the ASC EOB only reports the initial procedure and the physician's EOB includes add-on procedures, a la additional levels of pain injections. Demographic errors can also occur, and if an error is not caught prior to coding the procedure, accurate reimbursement stands to be adversely affected. The New 2014 Medicare N1 Codes: How Will This Affect Your Ambulatory Surgery Center? By Jessica Edmiston, CPC, CASCC, Certified ICD-10 Trainer and Vice President of Performance Review, National Medical Billing Services Jessica Edmiston