Physician's Coding Strategist

HCFA creates new technology APCs

The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) has created 11 new technology ambulatory payment classifications (APCs) applicable only to new technology devices (0987-0997). With the new APCs, HCFA wants to differentiate between new technology services and devices, the agency says in its program memorandum, (PM) A-00-61.

The PM also contains a list of long descriptors for drugs, biologicals, devices eligible for transitional pass-through payments, and for all items classified in "new technology" APCs under the outpatient prospective payment system. In addition, the PM also corrects C codes that were listed in Transmittal A-00-42. Here are the corrected C codes:

• old code: C1108, C1600, C1601;

• new code: C1810, C1850, C1851.

The PM also states that code C1005 (Intraocular lens, Sensar Soft Acrylic Posterior Chamber IOL) could only be used to bill for pass-through payments for services beginning Aug. 1, 2000, through Sept. 30, 2000.

For a look at the entire PM, visit the Web site www.hcfa.gov/pubforms.