Medical Administrative Contractors To Begin Reviewing Facet Joint Intervention Procedure Payments On March 22, 2023, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) recommended that CMS direct Medicare administrative contractors to recover improperly paid facet joint intervention payments. A recent OIG audit found that from August 1 through October 31,...

Federal Payment Advisory Body Calls for Physician Payment Increases in Medicare On March 3, 2023, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) called for a physician payment update tied to the Medicare Economic Index. Tying physician payment updates to the Medicare Economic Index would allow physician payments to be annually adjusted based on increased costs caused...

ISASS Requests Updated Diagnosis Codes for Spine Surgery Patients On March 10, 2023, ISASS participated in a public forum to request new International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision (ICD-10), Clinical Modification codes for conditions often treated by spine surgeons. Dr. Morgan Lorio, Chair of the ISASS Coding and Reimbursement Task Force, presented the request during...

Coding Guidance Offered on Surgeon’s Coding of Preoperative Patient Optimization Both the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) have recently provided guidance and updates on the use of new Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes to capture non–face-to-face work performed by surgeons, including spine surgeons. In the May 2021 issue...