How should Ambulatory Surgical Centers (ASCs) report bilateral procedures under the revised ASC payment system?
Bilateral procedures should be reported as a single unit on two separate lines or with “2” in the units field on one line, in order for both procedures to be paid. While use of the -50 modifier is not specifically prohibited according to CMS billing instructions, the modifier will not be recognized for payment purposes and may result in incorrect payment to ASCs. The multiple procedure reduction of 50 percent will apply to all bilateral procedures subject to multiple procedure discounting. See the Medicare Learning Network (MLN) Matters article SE0742, available at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/SE0742.pdf for billing examples illustrating this revised payment policy.
