Medical Billing Forum
Billing => Billing => : KARREN April 19, 2011, 08:09:06 PM
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how would you billing a mri of the shoulder w/o contrast right and left:
is it 73221-TC with 2 units.. or
73221-TC RT with 1 unit AND 73221-TC LT with 1 unit
Thanks
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I am not a certified coder. My experience with insurance carriers though has been that one may require it one way and another may require a different way. Both ways appear to be ok with the description of the code.
Any coders out there?
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You have to check with your insurance carrier because it can affect not only the modifiers RT and LT, but also the rates that you bill. For instance, for Medicare, you would not charge twice the amount for the service. Let's say the MRI was $100 each. If you bill 2 units of the same CPT, you would charge Medicare only $150--- not $200. Medicare feels that the equipment is already set up for the patient, etc, so the second unit would not cost the same as the first unit. Commerical insurances rates may also differ on the rates for bilateral services. CHECK FIRST.