95961
HCPCS/CPT
Prior Authorization
No Prior Auth Required
Code is covered without prior authorization (high confidence)
Medicare Pricing
Work RVU
2.97
Facility
$365.07
Non-Facility
$365.07
Documentation Required
- No explicit documentation requirements or a 'Documentation Requirements' section is stated in the CPB.
- Phrases in the CPB that describe trial/assessment approaches and could be relevant to clinical documentation (extracted verbatim): ""'Successful' means a pain reduction of more than 50 % as assessed with a visual analog scale (VAS).""
- Phrases in the CPB that describe pre/intra/post-operative procedures (extracted verbatim) which may be used clinically: "computer-aided neuro-navigation techniques and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images are used to guide implantation of electrode(s); and a second operation is performed for implantation of a neurostimulator if stimulation of the motor cortex is successful in alleviating the patient's pain."
- Other trial/test phrases appearing in the CPB (from cited studies) that could be used as clinical evidence though not stated as policy requirements: "A test trial of minimum 1 week including double-blind testing was conducted", "trial periods of stimulation", "functional imaging guidance", "intra-operative somato-sensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) and direct stimulation were used to confirm the target and final placement of the electrode", and documentation of VAS or other pain scores pre- and post-stimulation.
Key Coverage Criteria
- Pain related to paraplegia / post-paraplegia pain (limited data; some improvement reported in small series)
- Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) — discussed as experimental in guidelines; case report of combined SCS+MCS as rescue therapy
- Pain related to intercostal herpes zoster (single-case reported improvement)
- Chronic refractory pain conditions (general) — MCS has been used to treat various chronic refractory pain conditions (text: "Motor cortex stimulation (MCS) has been used to treat various chronic refractory pain conditions such as trigeminal neuralgia, post-stroke pain (PSP), and other nerve/brain injury pain syndromes.")
- Trigeminal neuropathic pain / trigeminal neuralgia (TNP / TN) (multiple studies cited reporting use and outcomes)
- Post-stroke pain (central post-stroke pain, PSP)
3 Active Policies
AETNA-CPB-0221 — Quantitative EEG (Brain Mapping)
AETNA-CPB-0374 — Trigeminal Neuralgia: Treatments
AETNA-CPB-0755 — Motor Cortex Stimulation
Related Codes
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