SUPERSEDED LCD Reference Article Billing and Coding Article

Billing and Coding: Trigger Point Injections

A57702

Expand All | Collapse All
Draft Article
Draft Articles are works in progress and not necessarily a reflection of the current billing and coding practices. Revisions to codes are carefully and thoroughly reviewed and are not intended to change the original intent of the LCD.
Superseded
To see the currently-in-effect version of this document, go to the section.

Document Note

Note History

Contractor Information

Article Information

General Information

Source Article ID
N/A
Article ID
A57702
Original ICD-9 Article ID
Not Applicable
Article Title
Billing and Coding: Trigger Point Injections
Article Type
Billing and Coding
Original Effective Date
12/01/2019
Revision Effective Date
10/01/2021
Revision Ending Date
N/A
Retirement Date
N/A
AMA CPT / ADA CDT / AHA NUBC Copyright Statement

CPT codes, descriptions and other data only are copyright 2023 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved. Applicable FARS/HHSARS apply.

Fee schedules, relative value units, conversion factors and/or related components are not assigned by the AMA, are not part of CPT, and the AMA is not recommending their use. The AMA does not directly or indirectly practice medicine or dispense medical services. The AMA assumes no liability for data contained or not contained herein.

Current Dental Terminology © 2023 American Dental Association. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2023, the American Hospital Association, Chicago, Illinois. Reproduced with permission. No portion of the American Hospital Association (AHA) copyrighted materials contained within this publication may be copied without the express written consent of the AHA. AHA copyrighted materials including the UB‐04 codes and descriptions may not be removed, copied, or utilized within any software, product, service, solution or derivative work without the written consent of the AHA. If an entity wishes to utilize any AHA materials, please contact the AHA at 312‐893‐6816.

Making copies or utilizing the content of the UB‐04 Manual, including the codes and/or descriptions, for internal purposes, resale and/or to be used in any product or publication; creating any modified or derivative work of the UB‐04 Manual and/or codes and descriptions; and/or making any commercial use of UB‐04 Manual or any portion thereof, including the codes and/or descriptions, is only authorized with an express license from the American Hospital Association. The American Hospital Association (the "AHA") has not reviewed, and is not responsible for, the completeness or accuracy of any information contained in this material, nor was the AHA or any of its affiliates, involved in the preparation of this material, or the analysis of information provided in the material. The views and/or positions presented in the material do not necessarily represent the views of the AHA. CMS and its products and services are not endorsed by the AHA or any of its affiliates.

CMS National Coverage Policy

Title XVIII of the Social Security Act, §1862(a)(1)(A). Allows coverage and payment for only those services that are considered to be medically reasonable and necessary.

Title XVIII of the Social Security Act, §1833(e). Prohibits Medicare payment for any claim which lacks the necessary information to process the claim.

Article Guidance

Article Text

The following coding and billing guidance is to be used with its associated Local coverage determination.

It is expected that trigger point injections would not usually be performed more often than three sessions in a three month period. If trigger point injections are performed more than three sessions in a three month period, the reason for repeated performance and the substances injected should be evident in the medical record and available to the Contractor upon request.

This contractor may request records when it is apparent that patients are requiring a significant number of injections to manage their pain.

Response To Comments

Number Comment Response
1
N/A

Coding Information

Bill Type Codes

Code Description
999x Not Applicable
N/A

Revenue Codes

Code Description
99999 Not Applicable
N/A

CPT/HCPCS Codes

Group 1

(2 Codes)
Group 1 Paragraph

N/A

Group 1 Codes
Code Description
20552 INJECTION(S); SINGLE OR MULTIPLE TRIGGER POINT(S), 1 OR 2 MUSCLE(S)
20553 INJECTION(S); SINGLE OR MULTIPLE TRIGGER POINT(S), 3 OR MORE MUSCLES
N/A

CPT/HCPCS Modifiers

Group 1

Group 1 Paragraph

N/A

Group 1 Codes

N/A

N/A

ICD-10-CM Codes that Support Medical Necessity

Group 1

(29 Codes)
Group 1 Paragraph

These are the only covered ICD-10-CM codes that support medical necessity.

This A/B MAC will assign the following ICD-10-CM codes to indicate the diagnosis of a trigger point. Claims without one of these diagnoses will always be denied.

Group 1 Codes
Code Description
M53.82 Other specified dorsopathies, cervical region
M53.83 Other specified dorsopathies, cervicothoracic region
M53.84 Other specified dorsopathies, thoracic region
M53.85 Other specified dorsopathies, thoracolumbar region
M53.86 Other specified dorsopathies, lumbar region
M53.87 Other specified dorsopathies, lumbosacral region
M53.88 Other specified dorsopathies, sacral and sacrococcygeal region
M54.2 Cervicalgia
M54.50 Low back pain, unspecified
M54.59 Other low back pain
M54.6 Pain in thoracic spine
M60.811 Other myositis, right shoulder
M60.812 Other myositis, left shoulder
M60.821 Other myositis, right upper arm
M60.822 Other myositis, left upper arm
M60.831 Other myositis, right forearm
M60.832 Other myositis, left forearm
M60.841 Other myositis, right hand
M60.842 Other myositis, left hand
M60.851 Other myositis, right thigh
M60.852 Other myositis, left thigh
M60.861 Other myositis, right lower leg
M60.862 Other myositis, left lower leg
M60.871 Other myositis, right ankle and foot
M60.872 Other myositis, left ankle and foot
M60.88 Other myositis, other site
M60.89 Other myositis, multiple sites
M79.18 Myalgia, other site
M79.7 Fibromyalgia
N/A

ICD-10-CM Codes that DO NOT Support Medical Necessity

Group 1

Group 1 Paragraph

All ICD-10-CM codes not listed in this policy under ICD-10-CM Codes That Support Medical Necessity above.

Group 1 Codes

N/A

N/A

ICD-10-PCS Codes

Group 1

Group 1 Paragraph

N/A

Group 1 Codes

N/A

N/A

Additional ICD-10 Information

N/A

Bill Type Codes

Contractors may specify Bill Types to help providers identify those Bill Types typically used to report this service. Absence of a Bill Type does not guarantee that the article does not apply to that Bill Type. Complete absence of all Bill Types indicates that coverage is not influenced by Bill Type and the article should be assumed to apply equally to all claims.

Code Description
999x Not Applicable
N/A

Revenue Codes

Contractors may specify Revenue Codes to help providers identify those Revenue Codes typically used to report this service. In most instances Revenue Codes are purely advisory. Unless specified in the article, services reported under other Revenue Codes are equally subject to this coverage determination. Complete absence of all Revenue Codes indicates that coverage is not influenced by Revenue Code and the article should be assumed to apply equally to all Revenue Codes.

N/A


Code Description
99999 Not Applicable
N/A

Other Coding Information

Group 1

Group 1 Paragraph

N/A

Group 1 Codes

N/A

N/A

Coding Table Information

Excluded CPT/HCPCS Codes - Table Format
Code Descriptor Generic Name Descriptor Brand Name Exclusion Effective Date Exclusion End Date Reason for Exclusion
N/A N/A
N/A
Non-Excluded CPT/HCPCS Ended Codes - Table Format
Code Descriptor Generic Name Descriptor Brand Name Exclusion Effective Date Exclusion End Date Reason for Exclusion
N/A

Revision History Information

Revision History Date Revision History Number Revision History Explanation
10/01/2021 R1

Under ICD-10 Codes that Support Medical Necessity Group 1: Deleted Code M54.5 and added codes M54.59 and M54.50. This revision is due to the Annual ICD-10 update and will become effective on 10/1/2021.

N/A

Associated Documents

Medicare BPM Ch 15.50.2 SAD Determinations
Medicare BPM Ch 15.50.2
Related National Coverage Documents
N/A
SAD Process URL 1
N/A
SAD Process URL 2
N/A
Statutory Requirements URLs
N/A
Rules and Regulations URLs
N/A
CMS Manual Explanations URLs
N/A
Other URLs
N/A
Public Versions
Updated On Effective Dates Status
04/18/2024 04/01/2024 - N/A Currently in Effect View
04/02/2024 04/01/2024 - N/A Superseded View
02/07/2024 04/01/2024 - N/A Superseded View
11/08/2023 10/01/2021 - 03/31/2024 Superseded View
09/07/2021 10/01/2021 - N/A Superseded You are here
Some older versions have been archived. Please visit the MCD Archive Site to retrieve them.

Keywords

N/A