EyeWorld is the official news magazine of the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.
Issue link: https://digital.eyeworld.org/i/115557
110 EW FEATURE February 2011 Cataract/IOLs, femtosecond cataract March 2013 An update on billing policy for femtosecond laser use by Ellen Stodola EyeWorld Staff Writer AT A GLANCE • Use of the femtosecond laser is not covered under Medicare when it is used for covered cataract surgery. • A patient can be billed for certain premium lens packages and treatments, and the use of the femtosecond laser often may be included with these treatments. • Although the femtosecond laser is a relatively new treatment, many surgeons believe that it offers the opportunity to achieve better outcomes. L ast year, ASCRS•ASOA updated its members on the guidelines for billing cataract procedures when the femtosecond laser is involved. These guidelines mainly pertain to billing for Medicare beneficiaries since the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services does not allow physicians to bill for "the use of femtosecond laser technology in conjunction with Medicare-covered steps of the cataract surgery, such as the phaco incision, capsulotomy and lens fragmentation," according to the guidelines. Karl Stonecipher, M.D., medical director, TLC Laser Eye Centers, Greensboro and Raleigh, N.C., and Monthly Pulse Keeping a Pulse on Ophthalmology Presbyopia-correcting IOLs seem to be on the rise, as demonstrated by our respondents. Seventytwo percent of those polled felt that their use of these IOLs was the same or had increased when compared to last year. The increased use of toric IOLs has driven greater preop analysis of astigmatism. Where preop anterior corneal cylinder readings used to be good enough, the importance of posterior cylinder is clearly noted, with 27% of respondents taking it into account and another 33% wishing they had the ability to do so. In regard to femtophaco adoption, surprisingly with all the marketing hype, only 20% in the poll have adopted the technology and 60% showed no interest in the technology for the next year. When choosing a system, the decision is not only technology driven but also has to do with financial, ergonomical, and system integration considerations. Farrell Tyson, M.D., cataract editorial board member