CMS: Bilateral modifiers no longer accepted on 36215-36217

Why This Topic Matters

The policy change affects claim submission and payment outcomes for a commonly billed set of catheterization services, making it important for practices that want to avoid denials and understand Medicare processing changes.

Article Sections

1. Policy change and affected services

   Summarizes the Medicare policy update and the group of selective catheterization services addressed in the article. It also introduces the billing context in which the change occurs.

2. Professional society response and denial concerns

   Covers reactions from interventional radiology and radiology organizations and discusses concerns about claim denials and administrative impact. The section also places the update within the relevant fee schedule timing.

3. Claims processing and practical billing implications

   Describes how the reporting approach changes at the claim level and why back-end review matters. It discusses broader operational considerations for payment tracking and claim handling.

4. Examples and expert commentary

   Provides narrative examples of how the services may appear on claims and includes commentary from coding professionals about the broader implications of the update. The discussion focuses on interpretation and workflow impact rather than detailed coding instruction.