Malignant, Benign Lesions: All the Same to Medicare - New Codes for Home Cardiac Telemetry, ESRD Care

Why This Topic Matters

These updates affect how services are reported and paid under Medicare and may change workflow for practices handling skin procedures, remote cardiac monitoring, laboratory testing, and dialysis-related physician services.

Article Sections

1. Skin lesion excision payment and CPT definition changes

   Reviews Medicare payment alignment for skin lesion excision and discusses the CPT changes affecting benign and malignant lesion reporting. The section compares revised coding concepts across lesion categories.

2. Home cardiac telemetry monitoring

   Describes new CMS HCPCS coding activity for home-based cardiac telemetry and the broader shift from hospital-centered monitoring to remote monitoring. It also notes related existing monitoring services discussed by CMS.

3. Flow cytometry professional component

   Summarizes CMS discussion of how the professional component for flow cytometry is currently handled and why the agency is seeking input from the laboratory community. It notes the possibility of future HCPCS coding changes.

4. End-stage renal disease monthly dialysis care

   Covers CMS plans to revise monthly dialysis-related physician payment coding for end-stage renal disease care. The section addresses how the new structure is intended to relate physician visit frequency to monthly service reporting.