Coding Guidelines: COVID-19 Vaccination and Treatment
With the emergence of the pandemic and the ruckus to manage the spread, a new set of codes were introduced that were associated with COVID-19 vaccinations and treatments. Let us look into some of these codes that were exclusively compiled for COVID-19.
Table of Contents
- COVID-19 ICD-10 Codes
- CPT Codes for COVID-19 Vaccination
- Receiving Payment for the Administration of Vaccines
- Billing for Vaccination
COVID-19 ICD-10 Codes
World Health Organization (WHO) created a list of codes just for COVID-19 cases (U07.1 COVID-19) and these were later put into effect by the Centers for Disease and Prevention in April 2020.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have created about 20 ICD-10-PCS codes for COVID-19 treatment options and vaccinations as of April 2020. Out of these, the administration of vaccines is covered by six codes, which include:
The administration or infusion of medications, such as monoclonal antibodies and vaccinations for COVID-19 therapy, will be represented by the proposed PCS codes, according to CMS. The codes also cover vaccines from companies including BioNTech and Pfizer.
Medicare will, although, pay for the COVID-19 vaccine and its delivery independently from the Diagnosis-Related Group rate for hospitalized patients. The hospital must employ the appropriate CPT codes in order to get paid for giving the immunization to Medicare patients.
The CPT codes for identifying COVID-19 vaccines have previously been made available by the American Medical Association (AMA).
Providers must utilize the correct medical codes for vaccination administration in order to be reimbursed. To complete vaccination coverage, CMS would pay physicians under Medicare Part B rather than Part D. Clinicians should not submit a Medicare claim for the vaccines as they are provided free of charge by the government.
Soon afterward, when organizations begin to bear expenditures for vaccination items, CMS will revise their reimbursement allowance. For both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, CMS has set a Payment allowance of $0.10.
The existing fee allowances for administering vaccines are $16.94 for the first dosage and $28.39 for the second. Medicare pays $28.39 for vaccines that need only one dosage.
For patients without insurance, the Provider Relief Fund reimburses the cost of giving the COVID-19 vaccination. The provider relief fund website states that providers are often compensated under Medicare prices, pending funds availability.
Providers must be enrolled in Medicare in order to bill for administering COVID-19 vaccination. Providers may use single/roster billing for a number of patients (more than 5 patients) to submit a single claim.
The respective bills, in particular, are acceptable regarding roster billing of institutional claims:
COVID-19 has taken a huge toll on the entire world and healthcare stands on top of it. With the addition of newer codes, practices and hospitals are getting into the game of normalizing COVID-19 vaccines and treatments while ensuring proper reimbursements.
Practolytics has already incorporated the changes and additions to the system and is utilizing them effectively to bill the respective services for practices. Reach out to us and talk to our experts to learn more about our RCM services.
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