CMS Publishes Reimbursement Codes for Kyphoplasty
BY JOHN MCCORMICK, NOVEMBER 3, 2005
Earlier this morning Kyphon (Nasdaq: KYPH) shouted from the mountaintop: CMS has posted new CPT codes for Kyphoplasty which effectively brings reimbursement to a national level.
The codes include percutaneous vertebral augmentation, RVUs for additional thoracic of lumbar vertebral bodies, doing the procedure with fluoroscopic guidance and others. The adjusted Medicare payment to physicians is expected to range from approximately $565 to $778 for a one-level kyphoplasty procedure with fluoroscopy and approximately $872 to $1,175 for a two-level kyphoplasty procedure with fluoroscopy. The CPT codes will go into effect on January 1.
In a press release CEO Richard Mott stated that "This represents a major milestone in kyphoplasty's evolution as a mainstream surgical therapy in the treatment of vertebral compression fractures and reflects CMS' and the American Medical Association's CPT Editorial Panel's views that kyphoplasty is appropriate for national coding recognition."
Readers can click here to details on the 2006 Final Rule for the Physician Fee Schedule.
