Radiology Question for the Week of January 23, 2017

Question:

When will CMS start accepting the new mammography codes?

Answer:

In the final 2017 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) rule, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a change in regard to its acceptance of new CPT codes 77065 (diagnostic, unilateral, including CAD when performed), 77066 (diagnostic, bilateral, including CAD when performed), and 77067 (screening, bilateral including CAD when performed).

Although it said, in the proposed rule, that it would accept these codes, CMS will not implement these new codes until January 1, 2018. The reason is that it has identified Medicare claims system processing issues that will prevent such implementation. It will, however, accept existing codes G0202, G0204 and G0206 for those services. The descriptions for these G codes will be changed to delete the term “digital” and to include CAD when performed. They should be reported for both analog and digital mammography for Medicare beneficiaries.