Today was my first encounter with this G0283. I was thinking R2D2 at first and a rerun of Star Wars. I am embarrassed that I have not seen this code before. Perhaps I saw it subconsciously and chose to ignore it hoping it would go away. Well, denial is never the answer.
I have seen 20553 (since losing its BR status) turn into 64999 and we have all seen many 97013 codes turn into 97799 codes. Surface EMG’s became 95999 (occasionally). The list goes on. But G0283 came out of nowhere to replace 97032 (electrical stimulation) and to conceptually beat the 8 unit rule absent a coding review. Very sneaky.
This creative billing is making me seriously think that the courts and arbitrators should read 65-3.8(g)(ii) to force an Applicant to prove merits of its billing as a prima facie burden. I took the reluctant view that this regulation was limited to overturn Encare and Westchester v. American Transit involving the precludability of a fee schedule defense. But in light of a lot of the creative fee coding that I see going on, it just might make sense to make a provider present prima facie evidence explaining why G0283 (or any by report code) should not be evaluated at 97032, or why the “needling” of 97799 should not be a 20553 code. The by-report code technically puts the burden on the provider to demonstrate its veracity; however, the courts have swept this feature of the the fee schedule under the rug under the “proof and amount of claim” formulation that has been the law since 2003.
Proving a negative is the story of New York no-fault. But perhaps it is time to modernize the law as it relates to the fee schedule issue. “Proof and amount of claim” should really require proof that the provider prove the billing is accurate. If you walk into a forthright arbitration in NJ or a County Court in Florida on a no-fault claim and argue otherwise, your case will end quite quickly.
Why is the Empire State so different?
One Response
How about changing attorney fee to hourly like NJ and Florida too????