Payment for Return Trips to the Operating Room for Treatment of Complications

When a CPT code billed with modifier “-78” describes the services involving a return trip to the operating room to deal with complications, A/B MACs (B) pay the value of the intra-operative services of the code that describes the treatment of the complications. Refer to Field 18 of the MFSDB to determine the percentage of the global package for the intra-operative services. The fee schedule amount (Field 34 or 35 of the MFSDB) is multiplied by this percentage and rounded to the nearest cent.

When a procedure with a “000” global period is billed with a modifier “-78,” representing a return trip to the operating room to deal with complications, A/B MACs (B) pay the full value for the procedure, since these codes have no pre-, post-, or intra-operative values.

When an unlisted procedure is billed because no code exists to describe the treatment for complications, A/B MACs (B) base payment on a maximum of 50 percent of the value of the intra-operative services originally performed. If multiple surgeries were originally performed, A/B MACs (B) base payment on no more than 50 percent of the value of the intra-operative services of the surgery for which the complications occurred. They multiply the fee schedule amount for the original surgery (Field 34 or 35) by the intra-operative percentage for the procedure (Field 18), and then multiply that figure by 50 percent to obtain the maximum payment amount.



[.50 X (fee schedule amount x intra-operative percentage)]. Round to the nearest cent.

If additional procedures are performed during the same operative session as the original surgery to treat complications which occurred during the original surgery, A/B MACs (B) pay the additional procedures as multiple surgeries. Only surgeries that require a return to the operating room are paid under the complications rules.

If the patient is returned to the operating room after the initial operative session, but on the same day as the original surgery for one or more additional procedures as a result of complications from the original surgery, the complications rules apply to each procedure required to treat the complications from the original surgery. The multiple surgery rules would not also apply.

If the patient is returned to the operating room during the postoperative period of the original surgery, not on the same day of the original surgery, for multiple procedures that are required as a result of complications from the original surgery, the complications rules would apply. The multiple surgery rules would also not apply.
If the patient is returned to the operating room during the postoperative period of the original surgery, not on the same day of the original surgery, for bilateral procedures that are required as a result of complications from the original surgery, the complication rules would apply. The bilateral rules would not apply.