The Coding and Reimbursement Committee has updated the coding information available on the AAPM website. New charts have been posted that include information concerning Medicare’s 2020 Relative Value Units (RVUs) for codes commonly reported by Pain Medicine Physicians. The title page provides links to CMS web pages that provide additional information and outlines the basis for the 2020 reimbursement rates.
The charts are organized according to the type of service (e.g. E/M, injections, radiology) with new and revised codes highlighted. As appropriate, some charts contain information indicating which codes include imaging guidance as well as which codes can be reported with the bilateral modifier. The Relative Value Units in the charts reflect the combined RVUs for physician work, practice expense and professional liability (total RVUs). RVUs in the “facility” column are used to calculate payments in the hospital or other facility setting. RVUs in the “non-facility” column are used for services provided in a physician office.
There is also a separate worksheet that lists all the new and revised codes for 2020. CPT 2020 introduces new codes for genicular and SI injections and makes significant changes to the instructions for reporting all somatic nerve injection codes. These changes are outlined in an AAPM E-News article, dated December 18, 2019.
Access the chart of common pain medicine codes online (login required).