The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the final 2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) on December 2, 2020. Unfortunately, CMS failed to provide relief from a significant shift in physician and non-physician payments slated to take effect on January 1, 2021. This change is estimated to impact audiology services by -6 percent.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued for public inspection on August 4 the proposed rule on the 2021 PFS.
In the era of COVID-19, it has become increasingly important to use different methods of clinical service provision to protect our patients’ health while still addressing their hearing, tinnitus, and vestibular health-care needs.
As audiology clinics increase their use of telehealth as a method for patient care, audiologists must understand how such changes also impact coding and billing. This article will discuss considerations and provide examples of billing and coding for telehealth services for audiologists.
Topic(s): Coding, reimbursment, Telehealth, tele-audiology, telemedicine
The National Health Interview Survey found that approximately 10 percent of U.S. adults had experienced tinnitus in the 12 months previous to the survey (Bhatt et al, 2016; Shargorodsky et al, 2010). This article reviews codes useful when providing tinnitus services. For clinical guidance, the interested reader is directed to the American Academy of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery Clinical Practice Guideline for Tinnitus (Tunkel et al, 2014).
Topic(s): Coding, reimbursment, Tinnitus
