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...
5817 Hits