Region D RAC Approves Anesthesia Services for Review

The RAC for Region D, HealthDataInsights (HDI), recently approved “anesthesia care package” and evaluation and management services for RAC review. Specifically, HDI stated:

Under NCCI Edit rules, the anesthesia care package consists of preoperative evaluation, standard preparation and monitoring services, administration of anesthesia, and post-anesthesia recovery care. Anesthesia CPT codes 00100 to 01999 (except 01996) include Evaluation & Management (E&M) services rendered on the day before anesthesia (pre-operative day), the day of anesthesia and all post-operative days. CPT code 01996 includes E&M services rendered on the same day as the 01996 service only. Physicians can indicate that E&M services rendered during the anesthesia period are unrelated to the anesthesia procedure by submitting modifiers 24, 25, 57 and/or 59, depending on claim specific circumstances, on E&M service. Only critical care E&M services are payable during the anesthesia post-operative period. The post-operative period is defined as the day immediately following the anesthesia service and any subsequent days during the same inpatient hospital admission as for the anesthesia service.

To date, HDI is the only RAC to approve the review of anesthesia care package and E&M services, although other RACs are likely to follow. RAC Region D includes Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, Guam, American Samoa, and Northern Marianas.

For more additional information and updates relevant to the RAC program, please visit our RAC website at https://www.wachler.com/ or contact one of our attorneys at (248) 544-0888.