1. Arizona Medical Bill Reviewer Training Program
Unit 1: Professional Services
Module 2: Anesthesia Guidelines

2. Let’s start by discussing general anesthesia guidelines and how anesthesia services are reimbursed...
Then, you will learn how anesthesia services are used for pain management services.
Hi! In this module, you will learn about anesthesia services, how they are reimbursed, and the circumstances that can affect reimbursement.
Overview
Part I: Anesthesia
Anesthesia Guidelines
Reimbursement of Anesthesia Services
Part I: Anesthesia
Anesthesia Guidelines
Reimbursement of Anesthesia Services
Physical Status Modifiers
Pain Management

3. What is Anesthesiology?
Anesthesiology is the branch of medicine concerned with the control of acute or chronic pain.
Anesthesia includes the use of:
Anesthesia also involves:
Preoperative assessment
Intra-operative patient management
Postoperative care
Autonomic, neuromuscular, cardiac, and respiratory physiology
Sedative drugs
Analgesic drugs
Hypnotic drugs
Anti-emetic drugs
Respiratory drugs
Cardiovascular drugs

4. Anesthesia Guidelines
The anesthesia section in the CPT ranges from
Anesthesia codes do not correspond one-to-one with surgery codes because multiple surgery codes may crosswalk to the same anesthesia code.
Therefore, 18 surgery codes correspond to this single anesthesia service.
Single anesthesia codes correspond to multiple surgical codes because the anesthesiologist performs the same tasks for any of the arthroscopic knee services and the only variation may be time.
For example, CPT is used for anesthesia services for any arthroscopic procedure on the knee joint.

5. Anesthesia Time Anesthesia time begins:
when an anesthesiologist or certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) physically starts to prepare the patient for the induction of anesthesia in the operating room (or its equivalent).
And ends:
when the anesthesiologist is no longer in constant attendance (when the patient is safely put under postoperative supervision).

6. Anesthesia services include:
Anesthesiologists may bill for a variety of services and methods of anesthesia.
Anesthesia Methods:
Anesthesia services include:
General anesthesia
Moderate sedation
Regional anesthetic
Pre-operative visit with the patient.
Ordering and giving medication.
Monitoring the patient’s vital signs and level of sedation.

7. Special Coding Situations
Special coding situations such as those involving multiple procedures, additional procedures, unusual monitoring, prolonged physician services, postoperative pain management, monitored (stand- by anesthesia), invasive anesthesia and chronic pain management services require application of the fee schedule in a manner consistent with guidelines of the ASA.

8. Procedures Not Separately Reimbursable
Just like other procedures, some anesthesia procedures can be billed separately, while other procedures cannot be billed separately.
Services not billed separately include:
Pre and post-operative routine visits.
Administration of fluids, including blood.
Usual monitoring services such as: EKG, temperature, blood pressure, oximetry, capnography, and mass spectrometry.
The system is automated to deny
(edit U001) these non-invasive monitoring services billed with an anesthesia code.

9. Separately Reimbursable Procedures
In contrast, anesthesiologists can bill for invasive procedures.
Some of these invasive procedures include:
Insertion of a central venous catheter
Esophageal catheter
Swan-Ganz catheter

10. Anesthesia Reimbursement
The system will recommend payment for anesthesia services based on the published conversion factors.
Base value units + Time units (plus additional modifying units, when modifier is keyed) = Total Units
Total Units x Conversion Factor ($55.83) = Total Fee
1 time unit is equal to 15 minutes for anesthesia time or any 7 minute portion thereof.

11. Anesthesia Reimbursement
Anesthesiologists and CRNA’s are reimbursed per a base unit value assigned to each anesthesia code and by units of time.
1 Time Unit = 15 minutes
Calculations are automated but may be required in a manual pricing situation.
Let’s take a look…

12. Anesthesia Reimbursement
CPT 00630: Anesthesia for lumbar spine surgery
Duration: 5 hours, 37 minutes
Base Units: 8
TIME UNITS:
5 hours (300 minutes/15 minutes per unit) = 20 units
37 minutes/15 minutes per unit = 3 units
Total units = 23
Base Units + Time Units = Total Units
= 31

13. Anesthesia Reimbursement
CPT 01202: Anesthesia for hip arthroscopy
Duration: 1 hour, 3 minutes
Base Units: 4
TIME UNITS:
1 hour, 3 minutes:
Where did the last 3 minutes go?
Remember, only round up when 7 minutes or more.
So, in this case, it is 60 minutes or 4 units!
1 hour, 3 minutes = 63 minutes
60 minutes/15 minutes per unit
= 4 units
Base Units + Time Units = Total Units
4 + 4 = 8

14. We will discuss the following modifiers:
Each section of the Official Medical Fee Schedule (OMFS) has a list of modifiers that pertain to those services.
We will discuss the following modifiers:
Modifier 23
Modifier 47
Recall that modifiers indicate that a procedure was altered by additional circumstances, but was not changed from its standard definition.
See the OMFS for a complete list of modifiers!

15. Anesthesia Procedures:
Modifier 23
In some instances, special circumstances warrant an increase in the basic value of specific procedures.
Procedures with a basic value of three or less base units which:
Require endotracheal intubation for prone or other difficult positions
Require surgical field avoidance
Are performed for medical necessity 23
Anesthesia Procedures:
This modifier pays 125% of the OMFS value.
...may warrant an additional charge.

16. Modifier 47
In some instances, anesthesia is provided by a surgeon, rather than an anesthesiologist.
When submitted with a 47 modifier, it is recommended for payment at 50% of the calculated anesthesia relative value.
47 Anesthesia by Surgeon: regional anesthesia provided by a surgeon. No time units are applied. This pays the lesser of charge or OMFS value.
It is important to realize that Modifier 47 should only be billed with surgical codes, not anesthesia codes.

17. Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA) also administer anesthesia, although they must be under the supervision of an anesthesiologist.
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs), will be reimbursed at the same rate as all other health care professionals when performing, coding and billing for the same services. Key codes and charges as billed.

18. Physical Status Modifiers
Now that you are familiar with the basics of anesthesia, let’s discuss how extreme circumstances can alter reimbursement.
Part I: Anesthesia
Anesthesia Guidelines
Reimbursement of Anesthesia Services
Pain Management
Physical Status Modifiers

19. Physical Status Modifiers
Anesthesia complicated by the patient’s condition may be additionally reimbursed if documentation supports the presence of significant disease.
These significant complications are indicated by physical status modifiers.
While hypertension and diabetes are not considered significant enough to warrant use of the higher level physical status modifiers, conditions such as:
Congestive heart failure
Emphysema
Uncontrolled epilepsy
...are reimbursable.

20. Physical Status Modifiers
The physical status modifiers and their values are:
Modifier
Description
Unit P3
Patient with severe systemic disease 1 P4
Patient with severe systemic disease that is a constant threat to life 2 P5
A moribund patient not expected to live without the operation 3

21. Physical Status Modifiers
Some providers will attach a physical status modifier to all anesthesia services, while others will only attach those with unit values greater than zero.
Either method is acceptable and the system is automated to pay the modifier.
It is the processor’s responsibility to verify that documentation justifies the addition of the payable modifiers.

22. Qualifying Circumstances
As you know, physical status modifiers indicate significant complications.
Similarly, there are special codes that indicate other extreme circumstances that can affect the reimbursement of anesthesia services.
Let’s take a look…

23. Qualifying Circumstances
You have probably realized that there are certain circumstances which make giving anesthesia much more difficult.
If the patient is extremely old or extremely young, the reaction to the anesthetic medications may be very different and must be monitored more closely.
Certain surgical procedures, such as cardiovascular or intracranial surgery, require lowering the blood pressure or body temperature significantly to reduce bleeding.
These circumstances are known as qualifying circumstances, and are billed in addition to anesthesia services.

24. Qualifying Circumstances
Qualifying circumstances are indicated by special codes, not modifiers.
Qualifying Circumstance codes include:
99100 – Anesthesia for patient of extreme age, under one year or over seventy.
99116 – Anesthesia complicated by utilization of total body hypothermia.
99135 – Anesthesia complicated by utilization of controlled hypotension.
99140 – Anesthesia complicated by emergency conditions (specify).

25. Qualifying Circumstances
CPT CODE
Description
Unit
99100
Anesthesia for patient of extreme age, under one year or over seventy. 1
99116
Anesthesia complicated by utilization of total body hypothermia. 5
99135
Anesthesia complicated by utilization of controlled hypotension
99140
Anesthesia complicated by emergency conditions (specify). 2

26. Qualifying Circumstances
It is critical that documentation support the addition of qualifying circumstances.
The age of a patient is easily verified to confirm an instance of “extreme age.”
In contrast, hypothermia can only be justified if, in the report, there is documentation stating that a hypothermia pad or blanket was placed under the patient and used to drop the body temperature.

27. Qualifying Circumstances
You probably realize that like other providers, anesthesiologists can incorrectly bill for certain codes.
Qualifying circumstance code is often incorrectly billed by anesthesiologists who simply keep a patient’s hypertension under control or lower the blood pressure slightly to minimize bleeding.
99135 should only be reimbursed if documentation shows a significant reduction in the blood pressure—at least 20 points—for delicate surgery such as intracranial operations.

28. Pain Management Post-operative Pain Control Chronic Pain Control
Now that you are familiar with how anesthesia is generally used, let’s discuss how it can be used for pain management.
Part II: Pain Management Services
Post-operative Pain Control
Chronic Pain Control
Part II: Pain Management Services
Post-operative Pain Control
Chronic Pain Control

29. Pain Management Services
Pain management occurs in two distinct circumstances:
Post-operative Pain Control
Chronic Pain Control
Let’s take a look…

30. Pain Management Services
If a spinal, epidural, or regional anesthetic is used for anesthesia during a surgery instead of general anesthesia, the anesthesiologist should still bill with the correct anesthesia code associated with the procedure.
This is because the service includes the anesthetic and all monitoring necessary to bring the patient safely through the surgery, regardless of the type of anesthetic.

31. Post-operative Pain Control
However, if a general anesthetic is given, making the patient unconscious, and the anesthesiologist gives an epidural or regional block for post-operative pain control in addition to the anesthesia given for the surgery, it can be billed separately.
Post-operative Pain Control

32. Post-operative Pain Control
Example 1
Example 2
Bob Smith is having a meniscectomy performed in his right knee.
Bob Smith is having a meniscectomy performed in his right knee.
He and the anesthesiologist discuss the anesthetic options and decide he will be happiest with an epidural anesthetic, making him numb from the waist down, and some mild IV sedation for anxiety control.
He and the anesthesiologist discuss the anesthetic options and decide he will be happiest with a general anesthetic because his anxiety level is so high. In addition, the anesthesiologist will insert an epidural catheter for pain control in the 24 hours following surgery.
The anesthesiologist will code her
services with for basic
value and time but will not bill
separately for the epidural
insertion.
The catheter insertion is separately reimbursed because it is not part
of the anesthetic for the surgery.
The anesthesiologist may not bill
01996 for pain control management
on the day of surgery.

33. Post-Operative Pain Control
Just like other procedures, the surgeon cannot bill separately for pain control services, such as inserting a pain pump catheter, if it is performed as part of the surgery.
In this case, it is part of the global surgery package.

34. However, the most common treatment is injection.
Chronic Pain Control
In chronic pain management, anesthesiologists that specialize in pain control may see the patient for a single or a series of injections, either into a joint or body area, or into the epidural space.
They may also employ non-injection methods of pain control such as biofeedback, physical therapy, and counseling.
Chronic Pain Control
However, the most common treatment is injection.

35. Chronic Pain Control
Like any other specialty who performs these services, these injections are billed and reimbursed as Type of Service (TOS) 2, which is surgery.
If these services are billed as TOS 7, which is anesthesia, the processor must change the TOS to reflect that this is a surgical service.

36. Chronic Pain Control
Anesthesiologists often used the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Relative Value Guide to bill for particular services. This reference guide lists the recommended base values for each procedure.
Often, anesthesiologists will mistakenly indicate the anesthesia base value in the units field on the bill.
Remember, the bill review system already calculates the base value associated with a procedure.

37. Chronic Pain Control
As you can see, when reviewing bills, it is important to determine the type of units and verify that they coincide with the service provided.
If multiple units are billed, the processor must determine if the provider has:
performed multiple injections
billed for time units
indicated the anesthesia base value of the service in the unit field
Unfortunately, all the above scenarios are viable possibilities.

38. Chronic Pain Control Example Let’s take a look…
Suppose a provider bills CPT 20610: large joint injection, for 3 units.
As a processor, you should ask, “Is he billing for 3 injections or 3 time units? Or, is this the base value?"
Only documentation can verify if this represents injections of both hips and one knee, for a total of 3 injections...
...or a single injection took the anesthesiologist 45 minutes, for a total of 3 time units.
Let’s take a look…

39. Chronic Pain Control 3 Injections 3 Joint Injections:
left hip, right hip, & right knee
The lines are separated, and the procedures are reimbursed at multiple procedure cascade.
3 Injections
Left hip: x 100% of FS value
Right hip: x 50% of FS value
Right knee: x 50% of FS value

40. Chronic Pain Control 3 Time Units
Single large joint injection representing time units or ASA base value
The processor will need to change the unit field to 1 and the TOS to 2 to represent the actual service performed.
3 Time Units
1 injection
Billed: 20610, TOS 7, Units: 3
Paid: x 100% of FS value TOS 2, Units: 1

41. Chronic Pain Control
If multiple types of injections are performed, they are reimbursed at multiple procedure cascade.
Example:
lumbar epidural:
100% FS
64440 injection paravertebral nerve:
50% FS
20550 trigger point injection:
If the provider appeals the recommendation, he is educated on multiple cascade logic, which avoids duplicating reimbursement for overhead, pre-operative, and post-operative care.

42. Pain Management Services
A common error in pain management occurs when providers bill for an E & M service each time the patient comes in for an injection.
If a pattern, such as weekly visits is obvious, it is unlikely each visit was a significant, separately identifiable service and not just routine questioning about pain level.
Unless the provider is assessing the patient’s progress in detail, treating an additional condition, or teaching or counseling the patient extensively, the E/M service is included in the injection procedure payment.

43. Summary How to calculate anesthesia reimbursements.
Anesthesia: Services and Procedures
How to calculate anesthesia reimbursements.
Modifiers: How physical status modifiers affect reimbursement.
How post-operative pain control services are reimbursed.
How chronic pain control services are reimbursed.