CPT® code 99497: Advance care planning including the explanation and discussion of advance directives such as standard forms (with completion of such forms, when performed), by the physician or other qualified health care professional; first 30 minutes, face-to-face with the patient, family member (s), and/or surrogate
Advanced care planning (ACP) is a service to help patients consider and prioritize their treatment goals. It is a process that helps the patient decide and document what kind of care they would want to accept or decline if they have a health crisis and are not able to communicate or make decisions.
As of January 1, 2016, Medicare reimburses healthcare providers for advance care planning (ACP) discussions with Medicare beneficiaries. Authorization for payment is set forth in the November 2015 Final Rule, published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Advance care planning may be provided and reported on the same day, or a different day, as another E/M service. A list of E/M codes with which you may report 99497 and 99498 is included in the CPT® guidelines preceding the code listings.
“Codes 99497 and 99498 are used to report the face-to-face services between a physician or other qualified health care professional and a patient, family member or surrogate in counseling and discussing advance directives, with or without completing relevant legal forms.”
The cardiologist may submit for reimbursement for both 99214 and 99497, 30 minutes of ACP discussion. Completion of documents is not required for reimbursement of ACP codes. Scenario 2: The same patient has a decompensation of his heart failure and is admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) a year later.
CMS also adopted the CPT guidance prohibiting the reporting of CPT codes 99497 and 99498 on the same date of service as certain critical care services including neonatal and pediatric critical care.
modifier-25Both codes should be reported with modifier-25 added presuming the requirements for use of modifier-25 are met.
ACP Coding The two CPT codes used to report ACP services are: 99497 First 30 minutes (minimum of 16 minutes) 99498 Add-on for additional 30 minutes.
modifier 33Yes. Advance care planning is a preventive service only when provided in conjunction with an annual wellness visit and reported with modifier 33 attached to the advance care planning code (e.g., 99497-33).
Modifier 33 is applied to indicate that the preventive service is one that waives a patient's co-pay, deductible, and co-insurance.
Note: Both the G0402 and 99497 are considered preventive in this coding scenario. A Medicare patient would be responsible for a copayment, co-insurance, and/or deductible for the 99497 service, unless it is performed on the same day as a wellness visit , (G0402, G0438 or G0439).
Advance care planning services are often best delivered using a team-based approach. ACP conversations delivered by individuals other than a physician or qualified health professional can be reported using 'incident to' billing guidelines.
Advance care planning is the process of planning for your current and future health care. It involves talking about your values, beliefs and preferences with your loved ones and doctors. This helps them make decisions about your care when you can't.
Code 99497 describes an initial 30 minutes of the providers' time (face-to-face with the patient, family, or surrogate). Report only one unit of 99497, per date of service. Code 99498 reports each additional 30-minutes of service, beyond the initial 30 minutes.
Advance care planning involves learning about the types of decisions that might need to be made, considering those decisions ahead of time, and then letting others know—both your family and your health care providers—about your preferences.
CPT codes, descriptions and other data only are copyright 2020 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved. Applicable FARS/HHSARS apply.
Title XVIII of the Social Security Act, §1833 (e) prohibits Medicare payment for any claim which lacks the necessary information to process the claim.
The information in this article contains billing, coding or other guidelines that complement the Local Coverage Determination (LCD) for Advance Care Planning L38970.
No specific diagnosis is required for the ACP codes to be billed. An ICD-10 code pertaining to the condition for which counseling is being provided, or to reflect an administrative examination, or a well exam diagnosis when furnished as part of the AWV.
Contractors may specify Bill Types to help providers identify those Bill Types typically used to report this service. Absence of a Bill Type does not guarantee that the article does not apply to that Bill Type.
Contractors may specify Revenue Codes to help providers identify those Revenue Codes typically used to report this service. In most instances Revenue Codes are purely advisory. Unless specified in the article, services reported under other Revenue Codes are equally subject to this coverage determination.
Voluntary ACP is a face-to-face service between a Medicare physician (or other qualified health care professional) and a patient to discuss the patient’s health care wishes if they become unable to make decisions about their care.
If you bill this service more than once, document the change in the patient’s health status and/or wishes about their end-of-life care. There’s no limit on the number of times you can report ACP for a patient.
99497 – Advanced care planning including the explanation and discussion of advance directives such as standard forms (with completion of such forms, when performed) by the physician or other qualified health professionals; first 30 minutes, face-to-face with the patient, family member (s) and/or surrogate.
Some patients may have existing documents produced through ACP, such as a living will, advanced directive, or medical power of attorney. Over time, as the patient ages and conditions change, these documents may all need to evolve to accommodate these changing circumstances. Some words of advice:
Advance care planning (ACP) is “learning about and considering the types of decisions that will need to be made at the time of an eventual life-ending situation and what the patient’s preferences would be regarding those decisions, ” per CPT Assistant (December 2014), which also shares an example of a patient who may benefit from these services.
Medicare will cover ACP as a separate service, or as an optional element (at the beneficiary’s discretion) of the Initial Preventive Physical Examination ( IPPE ), or “Welcome to Medicare” exam, and of the Medicare Annual Wellness Exam.
Two CPT codes are used to report ACP services: 99497 and 99498.
What is Medicare Advance Care Planning (ACP)? Advance care planning (ACP) is the face-to-face time a physician or other qualified health care professional spends with a patient, family member, or surrogate to explain and discuss advance directives. ACP Coding.
As stated in the CPT code description, completion of an advance directive is only required “when performed.”. It is not an overall requirement for billing ACP services. Requirements for CPT Code 99498 (Add on code):
ACP services furnished w/ AWV are considered preventative. In addition, CMS is also including voluntary ACP as an optional element of the AWV. ACP services furnished on the same day and by the same provider as an AWV are considered a preventive service.
ACP services furnished on the same day and by the same provider as an AWV are considered a preventive service. Therefore, the deductible and coinsurance are not applied to the codes used to report ACP services when performed as part of an AWV.