OnControl
OnControl

» Medicare Reimbursement Guidelines

Effective October 1, 2011: Unique Medicare pass through code and payment is now available for use of OnControl for Medicare eligible patients in the hospital outpatient and ambulatory surgery center (ASC) settings.

Medicare, governmental reimbursement programs and other third party payers (e.g. private insurers) generally cover bone marrow aspiration and/or biopsy procedures; and also cover the use of imaging guidance (e.g. fluoroscopy, ultrasound, or CT) for aspiration/biopsy procedures. This webpage provides suggested guidelines for reimbursement for bone marrow aspiration and biopsy.

Effective October 1, 2011, Medicare will be covering and paying for a new pass through code for use of the powered bone marrow biopsy needles when used on Medicare eligible patients in both the hospital outpatient and ambulatory surgery settings. See payment policies for how OnControl will be reimbursed. This new code is C1830 and its code descriptor is: Power bone marrow biopsy needle. Please ensure that this code and the appropriate charge are entered on to the hospital chargemaster.

The Powered OnControl™ Bone Marrow System offers these benefits:

  •  98% core capture rate on the first attempt 1
  • Higher Quality Sample 2
  • Easier and faster 2
  • Less patient pain 1

 Coverage for these services varies by payer, and may or may not be available depending upon the payer, site of service (e.g. hospital outpatient, physician office), and the indication.

Each provider and recipient of these services is responsible to ensure that coverage is available for such procedures and Vidacare assumes no liability for non-coverage of services. It is therefore important that providers contact the payer to determine if these services are covered and that patients contact their insurer to determine if their health insurance policy covers these services.


References

  1. Miller L, Philbeck T, Montez D, et al. Powered bone marrow biopsy procedures produce larger core specimens, with less pain, in less time than with standard manual devices. Hematology Reports 2011;3(e8):22-5. *Research sponsored by Vidacare Corporation.
  2. Swords R, et al. (2010). A New Rotary Device for Bone Marrow Aspiration and Biopsy Yields Superior Specimens with Less Pain: Results of a Randomized Clinical Study. Blood;116(21):Abstract #1529. *Research sponsored by Vidacare Corporation.