Medicare coverage database goes live

The Medicare Coverage Database went live as of 12/19/02. The database contains three types of coverage documents: national coverage decisions (NCDs), national coverage analyses (NCAs), and local medical review policies (LMRPs). The Medicare contractors will also upload coverage and coding articles on the database. NCDs outline Medicare coverage for specific services, technologies or procedures on a national basis. NCDs are published in the Medicare Coverage Issues Manual. Medicare contractors (fiscal intermediaries (FI) and carriers) may make coverage decisions if an NCD or the Medicare Manual does not specifically address the item or service. NCAs are documents supporting the national...

Subscribe or sign in to view the full article.

articles:    previous index next
Note:  The following article synopsis was NOT provided by the AHA. It was created by Find-A-Code/innoviHealth.

Article Overview

This article explains the launch of the Medicare Coverage Database and describes the main categories of Medicare coverage materials now available through it. It is aimed at coding professionals and other healthcare billing staff who need to understand how Medicare coverage information is organized, searched, and updated across national and contractor-level sources. The piece also notes the general search capabilities, available document types, and the database’s relationship to Medicare contractors and related web resources.

Why This Topic Matters

It matters because the database centralizes coverage information that can affect how Medicare-related services are researched and documented. Understanding the structure of the database helps users know where to look for coverage guidance and what kinds of search options are available.

What You Will Learn

  • What the Medicare Coverage Database includes
  • How the database organizes Medicare coverage materials
  • What types of searches are available
  • How the database relates to contractor-level coverage resources
  • What general update and access options are mentioned

Who Should Read This

  • Medical coders
  • Billing staff
  • Compliance staff
  • Healthcare administrators
  • Revenue cycle professionals

Subscribe or sign in to view the full article.

The AHA Coding Clinic for HCPCS includes:

  • The official publication for Level I HCPCS (CPT-4 codes) for hospital providers
  • Also specific Level II HCPCS codes for hospitals, physicians and other health professionals
  • Current newsletters added each quarter
  • Full Archives back to 2001
  • Fully searchable through Find-A-Code's Comprehensive Search
  • Codes mentioned in articles are linked to Code Information pages
  • Code Information page link back to related articles
  • View all the articles associated with any code, right from the code page!
Access to this feature is available in the following products:
  • AHA's Coding Clinic® - HCPCS +Archives

Related Articles

Articles are listed in order of calculated relevance.

demo
request yours today
 subscribe
start today
 newsletter
free subscription

Thank you for choosing Find-A-Code, please Sign In to remove ads.

Aimee- AI -powered coding assistant - Try it now for Free Would you like Aimee - AI
to help you with this?