Radiology Coding: Move Your Search For Mra Coverage To The Local Level

By Author: Angela Martin
Total Articles: 205
Comment this article

Oftentimes one coverage change leads to another. When CMS decided to do away with the phrase "blood flow measurement" from the Nationally Noncovered Indications at 220.2(C)(2) of the National Coverage Determinations (NCD) Manual, the agency announced a decision to review evidence on MRA's non-covered indications too.

Consequence: Recently, CMS announced that local Medicare contractors will be the ones to decide whether to cover magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) services not specifically designated as nationally covered or non-covered.

In a nutshell, the decision states that CMS will merge the NCDs for MRI and MRA. And as part of the merge, CMS will maintain existing national coverage but will eliminate non-coverage language for MRA.

The change in the national MRA policy is huge.

For instance: Earlier, MRA of the chest 71555, Magnetic resonance angiography, chest [excluding myocardium], with or without contrast material[s]) was limited to pulmonary embolism and thoracic aneurysm, and now the local carriers will have jurisdiction.

For more ...
... on this and other radiology coding know how, sign up an audio conference. When you sign up for one, not only will get all updates on the ICD-9 2011 codes affecting your radiology practice, but also get to know every possible coding information you need to know to code right for your practice.

The best part of attending such a conference is that you can attend it from the comforts of your own office or meeting room. And even if you miss out on a scheduled conference, you can always fall back on CDs and PDF transcripts of the conference to take you through the entire event. What's more, you even stand to acquire CEUs on attending such a conference.