D21.21 — Benign neoplasm of connective and other soft tissue of right lower limb, including hip
ICD-10-CM
Prior Authorization
No Prior Auth Required
Code is covered without prior authorization (high confidence)
Documentation Required
- Legible medical records must reference the patient's complaint or the physician's physical findings when billing with diagnosis L82.0.
- Documentation must support a significant, separately identifiable E/M service when modifier 25 is appended (separate E/M note tied to the visit and not just the procedure).
- Verify applicable procedure and global policy coding via the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Database (MPFSDB) to determine where the global surgical policy applies.
- This billing/coding guideline complements LCD L33459 (Computerized Axial Tomography (CT), Thorax); follow the LCD for clinical coverage and any required documentation or prior authorization rules.
Key Coverage Criteria
- Removal of benign or malignant skin lesions is addressed per the Local Coverage Determination L33445 and related billing/coding guidance.
- Diagnosis code L82.0 (inflamed seborrheic keratosis) may be used when the medical record documents the patient's complaint or the physician's physical findings for the lesion.
- Nonvascular extremity ultrasound is covered when medical necessity is documented in the patient's record, including relevant medical history, physical examination, and results of pertinent diagnostic tests or procedures.
- Diagnostic nonvascular extremity ultrasound is covered when the claim includes an ICD-10-CM diagnosis code that best describes the patient's condition and the test result or the symptoms prompting the test are documented.
- Coverage for lower extremity major joint replacement (hip and knee) is subject to the reasonable and necessary requirements of Local Coverage Determination L36007; services meeting LCD L36007 criteria are covered.
- CPT codes 64400-64530 for peripheral nerve blocks may be reported on the date of surgery when performed for postoperative pain management only if the operative anesthesia is general anesthesia, subarachnoid injection, or epidural injection and the adequacy of intraoperative anesthesia is not dependent on the peripheral nerve block.
20 Active Policies
A59811 — Billing and Coding: Total Joint Arthroplasty
J05
L39911 — Total Joint Arthroplasty
J05
A56787 — Billing and Coding: Nonvascular Extremity Ultrasound
J06
A57452 — Billing and Coding: Peripheral Nerve Blocks
J06
L36850 — Peripheral Nerve Blocks
Related Codes
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