Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System

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The Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS, often pronounced by its acronym as "hick picks") is a set of health care procedure codes based on the American Medical Association's Current Procedural Terminology (CPT). [1]

Contents

History

The acronym HCPCS originally stood for HCFA Common Procedure Coding System, a medical billing process used by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Prior to 2001, CMS was known as the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA). HCPCS was established in 1978 to provide a standardized coding system for describing the specific items and services provided in the delivery of health care. Such coding is necessary for Medicare, Medicaid, and other health insurance programs to ensure that insurance claims are processed in an orderly and consistent manner. Initially, use of the codes was voluntary, but with the implementation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) use of the HCPCS for transactions involving health care information became mandatory. [2]

Levels of codes

HCPCS includes three levels of codes:

See also

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References

  1. HCPCS Code range. "HCPCS Codes".
  2. "New CMS coding changes will help beneficiaries" (PDF). Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. October 6, 2004. p. 1. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  3. "Coding and Payment Guide for Behavioral Health Services" (PDF). www.optum360coding.com. Ingenix. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-12-01. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  4. "CPT® Category III Codes: The First Ten Years" (PDF). American Medical Association. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-12-01. Retrieved 2018-01-01.