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BCBSM Approves Intraoperative TEE Codes; Effective Date Pending November 11, 2003 - In a meeting with representatives of the Michigan Society of Anesthesiologists, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) assured anesthesia providers that intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) codes would again be reimbursed. However, BCBSM gave no indication of when the recommended policy would go into effect. Earlier this year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) decided to bundle TEE with the appropriate surgical code. Then, after protest, CMS unbundled TEE. Meanwhile, BCBSM stopped reimbursing for TEE codes. This most recent approval by BCBSM aligns their policy once again with Medicare's. Claims for the probe placement when a diagnostic TEE is performed during anesthesia, as they have in the past, will be reported using the following codes: 93312 (echocardiography, transesophageal, real time with 2D image documentation, with or without M-mode recording; including probe placement, image acquisition, interpretation and report), 93313 (placement of probe only), and 93314 (image acquisition, interpretation and report only), 93315 (transesophageal echocardiography, congenital cardiac anomalies; including probe placement, image acquisition, interpretation and report), and 93316 (transesophageal echocardiography, congenital cardiac anomalies; placement of probe only) and 93317 (image acquisition, interpretation and report only). If the TEE probe is used solely for monitoring, its placement is not separately reportable. However, if the patient requires a diagnostic TEE by the anesthesiologist, both the placement of the probe and the interpretation may be reported. The anesthesia log should clearly indicate whether or not the probe served as a diagnostic tool. BCBSM recommends that providers clearly report on the anesthesia record the details of each procedure. |
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