CMS approves specialty code for advanced heart failure, transplant cardiologists
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved a new specialty code for advanced heart failure and transplant cardiologists.
CMS sent a letter to the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and Heart Failure Society of America on Nov. 22 informing them of the decision and telling the agencies it could take a year to complete the implementation process.
The ACC said in a news release that the designation allows CMS to distinguish heart failure and transplant cardiologists from clinical cardiologists when they bill for Medicare services.
With the new code, cardiologists and heart failure specialists from the same practice can submit separate billings if they treat the same patient. Previously, some Medicare carriers have denied claims because they thought the cardiologists were guilty of duplicate billing, according to the ACC.
“The approval of the new heart failure specialty designation code is the culmination of years of collaborative work between the Heart Failure Society of America and the ACC,” Mary Norine Walsh, MD, president elect of the ACC, said in a news release. “Ultimately, this designation will allow advanced heart failure/transplant cardiologists to be appropriately reimbursed for their care of a complex patient cohort.”
Executive Editor
Tim Casey joined TriMed Media Group in 2015 as Executive Editor. For the previous four years, he worked as an editor and writer for HMP Communications, primarily focused on covering managed care issues and reporting from medical and health care conferences. He was also a staff reporter at the Sacramento Bee for more than four years covering professional, college and high school sports. He earned his undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Notre Dame and his MBA degree from Georgetown University.