Cataract surgery payments take ‘a major hit’ in 2020
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KOLOA, Hawaii — The 2020 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule payments for ophthalmology changed little from 2019, with only cataract surgery taking a significant reduction, Kevin J. Corcoran, COE, CPC, CPMA, FNAO, said in his annual “What’s new in 2020” update at Hawaiian Eye 2020.
The 2019 CPT code 66984 for cataract surgery with IOL payment was reduced from $654.47 to $557.58.
“Cataract surgery took a major hit,” Corcoran said, attributing the reduction to CMS taking corrective action to reduce the number of follow-up visits to less than four.
New CPT codes for cataract surgery are 66987 for complex cataract surgery with endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation (ECP) and 66988 for non-complex cataract surgery with ECP. Changes to existing cataract surgery codes 66982 and 66984 now specify “without endoscopic photocoagulation.”
The change was made to address the fact that in 75% of ECP procedures, cataract surgery was also performed, he said.
“Bear in mind that ECP accounts for about 20,000 procedures per year and there are 4 million cataracts, so this is the tail wagging the dog,” Corcoran said. – by Patricia Nale, ELS
Reference: Corcoran K. What’s new in 2020? Presented at: Hawaiian Eye 2020; Jan. 18-24, 2020; Koloa, Hawaii.
Disclosure: Corcoran reports he has financial interest in the subject matter of the presentation.