Some payers are sowing confusion regarding whether nerve blocks placed for the management of postoperative pain are separately payable. ABC’s Alert dated April 8, 2013 noted that Noridian LLC, the Medicare Part B (physician services) contractor for ten states in the Western U.S. had published a proposed policy that would prevent payment for peripheral nerve blocks placed preoperatively to reduce postoperative pain. Specifically, the draft policy (Local Coverage Determination, or LCD) entitled Nerve Blockade: Somatic, Selective Nerve Root, and Epidural stated that: “Providers should not expect separate payment for the establishment of epidural or other pain blocks unless the block is placed following discharge from PACU due to documented inadequate pain control.” The proposed new rule received considerable attention, as it would have reversed the longstanding principle that the purpose of a nerve block placed to manage surgical pain, and not its timing, determines whether the block is separately payable from...