The 2022 edition of ICD-10-CM Z71.89 became effective on October 1, 2021.
Z71- Persons encountering health services for other counseling and medical advice , not elsewhere classified
Disorder of nutrition due to unbalanced or insufficient diet or to defective assimilation or utilization of nutrients.
Clinical Information. A condition caused by not getting enough calories or the right amount of key nutrients, such as vitamins and minerals, that are needed for health.
Cancer and cancer treatment may cause malnutrition. An imbalanced nutritional status resulted from insufficient intake of nutrients to meet normal physiological requirement.
The 2022 edition of ICD-10-CM E63.9 became effective on October 1, 2021.
The 2022 edition of ICD-10-CM Z71.9 became effective on October 1, 2021.
Z71- Persons encountering health services for other counseling and medical advice , not elsewhere classified
05/2014 - CMS translated the information for this policy from ICD-9-CM/PCS to ICD-10-CM/PCS according to HIPAA standard medical data code set requirements and updated any necessary and related coding infrastructure. These updates do not expand, restrict, or alter existing coverage policy. Implementation date: 10/06/2014 Effective date: 10/1/2015. ( TN 1388 ) ( TN 1388 ) (CR 8691)
02/2017 - This change request (CR) is the 10th maintenance update of ICD-10 conversions and other coding updates specific to national coverage determinations (NCDs). These NCD coding changes are the result of newly available codes, coding revisions to NCDs released separately, or coding feedback received. Previous NCD coding changes appear in ICD-10 quarterly updates as follows: CR7818, CR8109, CR8197, CR8691, CR9087, CR9252, CR9540, CR9631, and CR9751, as well as in CRs implementing new policy NCDs. Edits to ICD-10 and other coding updates specific to NCDs will be included in subsequent, quarterly releases and individual CRs as appropriate. No policy-related changes are included with the ICD-10 quarterly updates. Any policy-related changes to NCDs continue to be implemented via the current, long-standing NCD process. ( TN 1792 ) (CR9861)
The suggested coding for obesity screening and counseling includes 97802-97804, 99078, 99401-99404, 99411-99412, G0447 or S9470 as preventive with E66.9 or E66.01 (ICD-10- CM).
Services for obesity/weight management counseling may be billed under E/M codes (99201-99215) provided that those services meet the components of an E/M service. These E/M codes are compatible with all causes, illness or routine related, and will pay according to the diagnosis submitted.
This code is to be billed for all individual reassessments and all interventions after the initial visit (see 97802). This code should also be used when there is a change in the patient’s medical condition that affects the nutritional status of the patient (see the heading, Additional Covered Hours for Reassessments and Interventions).
All subsequent individual visits (including reassessments and interventions) are to be coded as 97803. All subsequent Group Visits are to be billed as 97804.
Claims submitted with these procedure/service codes and a routine diagnosis code will process according to the patient’s preventive benefit, provided the patient has coverage for preventive services. If CPT codes 99401-99404 were submitted with a diagnosis of obesity the claim would reject because the service was incompatible with the diagnosis.
Nutritionists, Dietitians, Dietitian/Nutritionist and otherProviders For many lines of business, Blue Cross pays Minnesota licensed nutritionists, licensed dietitians and registered dietitians directly for services submitted with an eating disorder ICD-10-CM diagnoses F50.00 F50,2 and F50.29. The provider may submit using procedure/service codes S9470, 97802, 97803 or 97804 based on the service provided. No referral is necessary for the highest benefit level. Some self-insured plans, however, may exclude coverage by a dietitian, so benefits should be verified.
The terms “overweight” and “obesity” are sometimes used interchangeably by providers. Coders should be aware of the difference to select the correct diagnosis code. The most common way to determine the correct diagnosis code is to use the patient’s body mass index (BMI).
Treatment for obesity can span anywhere from therapy to surgery. Obviously, surgery should be the last resort and limited to those who are truly severely morbidly obese. Regardless of obesity class, patients may benefit from MNT, so let’s look at those codes.
For payers such as Medicare that accept HCPCS Level II codes, choose from the following two codes when there has been a change in the patient’s diagnosis, condition, or treatment regimen:
If the patient is not necessarily obese or does not receive nutrition-specific counseling, look to 99401-99404 and 99411-99412. These are preventive medicine codes, so you cannot bill them if the patient does not have a specific illness.
Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the obesity epidemic. According to usnews.com, in 2020, 16 states had adult obesity rates at or above 35 percent, up from 12 states the previous year.