Joint Tumor Exec Comm Washington Committee report

June 2007 CPT Panel Meeting. The CPT Panel met June 7 through June 10, 2007. AANS and CNS did not present code change proposals at the meeting. Of interest to the Joint Tumor section the following was discussed:

Stereotactic Radiosurgery CPT Assistant Article. At the June 2007 CPT meeting, the CPT Assistant Editorial Board met to review several articles, included a Q and A article on coding for CPT Code 61793. On Friday, June 8, Tracy Gordy, MD, CPT Panel Chairman, presented the Executive Committee report. The report included a statement that the CPT Assistant Editorial Board was unable to resolve questions about CPT Code 61793. Specifically, the board supported coding of CPT 61793 only once per course of treatment but referred the matter to the Executive Committee for consideration. The CPT Editorial Panel passed the executive committee report without opportunity for response or clarification. The article in question stemmed from a request from AMA staff to Dr. Cozzens on September 12, 2006,asking that he clarifying the use of the term “session” in a January 2006 CPT Assistant article.

Dr. Cozzens circulated a draft to the AANS/CNS SRS Task Force leaders for comment and worked with CPT Assistant staff to incorporate revisions. Language allowing the coding of CPT Code 61793 for up to five lesions per session was retained in every draft version reviewed until the CPT Assistant Editorial Board meeting on June 7.

ACTION TAKEN: On July 3, 2007, AANS and CNS Presidents sent a letter to Dr. Gordy asking that the CPT Assistant Q and A not be published unless the wording was changed back to allow coding of 61793 for multiple lesions in a single session,up to five lesions. In response to the letter to Dr. Gordy, CPT staff has said that the CPT Assistant article will not be published without opportunity for further review by the AANS and CNS and the issue has been referred back to the CPT Panel for consideration at its meeting in October 2007.

New SRS CPT Codes. Following an analysis of an initial survey to evaluate the practice patterns of neurosurgeons performing SRS, Jeffery Cozzens, MD, developed a draft coding proposal for a set of new codes for SRS. Dr. Cozzens discussed the codes with the AANS/CNS Joint Stereotactic and Functional Section and the Tumor Section. A “test” RUC-style survey is currently being conducted. Following a review of the test survey results, a final decision will be made about whether to submit the CPT Code Change Proposal by November 7, 2007, the deadline for the February 2008 CPT Editorial Panel Meeting.

Biomedical Research. Through the Brain Attack Coalition, the National Coalition for Heart and Stroke Research, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Constituency Group, and the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research, the AANS and CNS continue to work to supportadequate biomedical research funding. Rachel Groman represents neurosurgery on these coalitions.

Embryonic Stem Cell Research. On June 7, the House joined the Senate in passing legislation to provide federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, marking the second time in less than a year that Congress sent a bill to the President to increase the number of embryonic stem cell lines eligible for federally funded research. On June 20, however, the President vetoed the legislation. On the same day, the President issued an executive order that would enact the second provision of S. 5, which directs the NIH to study alternative ways of procuring stem cells that have the same qualities as embryonic cells, but do not destroy an embryo. The Senate may hold a vote to override the veto between the Labor Day and Columbus Day recess.

Isabelle M. Germano, MD, FACS