tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2001 Issue 4

Reader Question: Should Modifier -51 Be Used?

Question: I have always thought that multiple procedures performed the same day on the same patient by the same physician generally required modifier -51 for each additional procedure. The facility I am consulting with is not appending the modifier when they bill for their physicians. Are they billing correctly?Tennessee SubscriberAnswer: They probably are billing correctly, depending on the carrier, says Barbara Cobuzzi, MBA, CPC, CPC-H, president of Cash Flow Solutions, a medical billing company in Lakewood, N.J. Most local Medicare carriers no longer require physicians to use modifier -51, although they may append it themselves on the...

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