Medical coding/ billing is today one of the ten
fastest-growing allied health occupations. Health care insurers
process over 5 billion claims for payment every year in the US.
Therefore, Medicare and other health insurance programs have to
make sure that that all claims are processed without mistakes
and so this requires a standardized coding system.
Medical
coding and billing professionals are responsible for submitting
the proper documents to the various insurance companies and
federal agencies for reimbursement of the medical expenses.
Medical coders use special codes to specifically identify
outpatient and also inpatient procedures / services and this is
very useful for billing of both private as well as public
insurance companies.
HCPCS stands for Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System.
It is a set of health care procedure codes based on the American
Medical Association’s Current Procedural Terminology (CPT).
Established in the year 1978, HCPCS provides a standardized
coding system for describing the specific items and services
provided in the delivery of health care. This type of coding
ensures that insurance claims are processed properly and is
needed by Medicare, Medicaid, and other health insurance
programs.
HCPCS codes exist in two levels.
- Level I is numerical and consists of the American
Medical Association’s Current Procedural Terminology (CPT)
- Level II codes are alphanumeric and meant for
non-physician health services.
It is very essential for medical coders to keep in touch with
the latest codes and changes. This is possible by the use of
HCPCS books that contain the complete lists of HCPCS Level II
codes with descriptions and guide the medical coder through
current modifiers, code changes, additions and deletions.
The author of this article is Ricci Mathew of
Outsource Strategies International (OSI), a US based company
that offers services in Medical Coding, Medical Billing, Medical Transcription for clients across the US.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ricci_Mathew
http://EzineArticles.com/?Medical-Coding-and-Billing-And-HCPCS&id=1182161
