Important MRA and Tobacco Cessation Announcements

Important MRA and Tobacco Cessation Announcements

Coverage changes are taking place at Medicare. Here's what's coming for MRA and tobacco cessation services.

Mix and match MRI and MRA Coverage

Sometimes one coverage change leads to another.

When CMS decided to remove the phrase blood flow measurement' from MRI's Nationally Noncovered Indications at 220.2(C)(2) of the National Coverage Determinations (NCD) Manual, it announced a decision to review evidence on non-covered indications for magnetic resonance angiography (MRA), too.

Result: Recently, CMS announced that local Medicare contractors will be the ones to decide whether to cover MRA services not specifically designated as nationally covered or non covered.

In a nutshell, the decision states that CMS will merge the NCDs for MRI and MRA. And as part of the merging, CMS will maintain existing national coverage but will eliminate non-coverage language for MRA.

For practies that carry out imaging, the change in the national MRA policy is huge.

For instance: Earlier MRA of the chest [71555, Magnetic resonance angiography, chest [excluding myocardium], with or without contrast material[s]) was limited to pulmonary emboli and thoracic aneurysm, and now the local carriers will have jurisdiction.

Watch for additional 99406-99407 opportunities

If you have been writing off tobacco cessation counseling as nonpayable, it is time to change your tune.

Earlier, you could collect codes 99406-99407 (Smoking and tobacco use cessation counseling visit ...) if you carried out tobacco cessation counseling for a patient with a tobacco related disease or with signs or symptoms of one. However, on August 25, CMS announced that under new coverage, any smoker covered by Medicare will be able to get tobacco cessation counseling from a qualified doctor or other Medicare recognized practitioner who can work with them to help them prevent using tobacco.

For a long time, many tobacco users with Medicare coverage were not allowed access to evidence-based tobacco cessation counseling. Now, older adults and other Medicare beneficiaries can get the help they need to overcome tobacco dependence successfully.

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