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In November 2005, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it would increase IDET◊ procedure reimbursement by placing it in a more appropriate Ambulatory Payment Classification (APC) for calendar year 2006:

• Under the reclassification, CMS will reimburse $1424.50 for the IDET◊ procedure in 2006, instead of the 2005 payment level of $600.85. This represents a percent increase of at least 130%.
• The CMS agreed that the previous assignment of the IDET◊ procedure to APC 0203 did not describe the clinical features or hospital resources associated with CPT codes 0062T (percutaneous intradiscal annuloplasty, any method, unilateral or bilateral including flurorscopic guidance; single level) and 0063T (percutaneous intradiscal annuloplasty, any method, unilateral or bilateral including fluoroscopic guidance; one of more additional levels).
• CMS agreed that assigning the procedure to APC 0050 (Level II Musculoskeletal Procedures except Hand and Foot) would achieve more clinical and hospital resource homogeneity.
• The Medicare fee schedule is tied to workers’ compensation reimbursement in many states (including California), further extending the reimbursement reach of the IDET◊ procedure.

Year	APC	Description	Payment rate
2006	0050	Level II Musculoskeletal Procedures	$1424.50
2005	0203	Level IV Nerve Injections	$600.85

For further information about the role of APC designations in coding, see Hospital Coding and Payment.

For further help with insurance and reimbursement, use our Reimbursement Calculation Tools.