99503
HCPCS/CPT
Prior Authorization
No Prior Auth Required
Code is covered without prior authorization (high confidence)
Medicare Pricing
Work RVU
0.00
Facility
N/A
Non-Facility
N/A
Documentation Required
- General implication: because therapy is considered experimental/investigational, documentation of medical necessity for aerosolized/irrigated anti-infective use for sinusitis would not meet coverage criteria per this CPB.
- None specified in the policy (no explicit required medical records, test results, or clinical documentation described).
- Documentation of frequency and duration of services and that the 'treatment provided is appropriate for the member's condition including the amount of time spent providing the service as well as the frequency and duration of the services.'
- Services must be 'ordered by a physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner and are directly related to an active treatment plan of care established by the provider' — documentation of the order and active plan of care is required.
Key Coverage Criteria
- None. (The policy does not list any covered indications.)
- Explicit policy statement: "Aetna considers nasally aerosolized or irrigated anti-infectives experimental and investigational for the treatment of sinusitis and other indications because there is inadequate published clinical evidence of the effectiveness of this approach."
- Skilled nursing care consists of those services that must be performed by a registered nurse or licensed practical (vocational) nurse, and meet all of the following criteria for skilled nursing services: Pursuant to physician orders, the service(s) is so inherently complex that it can be safely and effectively performed only by, or under the supervision of, a licensed nurse to achieve the medically desired result; and The skilled nursing care must be provided on an intermittent* or hourly** basi [...]
- Covered home-visit services (CPT codes covered if selection criteria are met): 99500 (home visit for prenatal monitoring and assessment ...), 99501 (home visit for postnatal assessment and follow-up care), 99502 (home visit for newborn care and assessment), 99503 (home visit for respiratory therapy care), 99504 (home visit for mechanical ventilation care), 99505 (home visit for stoma care and maintenance), 99506 (home visit for intramuscular injections), 99507 (home visit for care and maintenanc [...]
- Covered HCPCS services (if selection criteria are met): G0162 (skilled services by an RN in management & evaluation of plan of care, each 15 minutes), G0299 (direct skilled nursing services of an RN in the home health or hospice setting, each 15 minutes), G0300 (direct skilled nursing services of an LPN in the home health or hospice setting, each 15 minutes), G0493, G0494, G0495, G0496 (skilled observation/assessment and training/education codes, each 15 minutes), S9123 (nursing care in the home [...]
- Subject to applicable benefit plan terms and limitations, Aetna considers skilled home health nursing services medically necessary when all of the following criteria are met: The member is homebound because of illness or injury (i.e., the member leaves home only with considerable and taxing effort and absences from home are infrequent, or of short duration, or to receive medical care); and The nursing services provided are not primarily for the comfort or convenience of the member or custodial i [...]
3 Active Policies
AETNA-CPB-0201 — Skilled Home Health Care Nursing Services
AETNA-CPB-0593 — Aerosolized or Irrigated Anti-infectives for Sinusitis
ANTHEM-CG-MED-23 — CG-MED-23 Home Health
Related Codes
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