Since January 21, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) covers acupuncture for chronic low back pain for up to 12 visits in 90 days. If patients are demonstrating improvement, CMS will cover an additional 8 visits for a total of 20 visits annually. Beginning with dates of service on and after January 1, 2024, CMS will

Dry needling CPT codes were created by the American Medical Association and became effective with dates of service on and after January 1, 2020. Even though the CPT codes have been effective for over 2.5 years, many physical therapists still do not have a solid understanding of the CPT codes and billing and payment regulations concerning dry needling. In this article, I will answer the following questions:

For those physical therapists (PTs) that perform dry needling on Medicare beneficiaries, they understand that the Medicare program does not reimburse PTs for dry needling when billing CPT codes 20560 and 20561. What has been confusing is must the PT provider issue a mandatory advance beneficiary notice of noncoverage (ABN) to the Medicare beneficiary or is the ABN an optional ABN to provide to the Medicare beneficiary? This question has now apparently been answered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). According to clarification received by

This 2.5-hour webinar will teach participants what CPT code to bill dependent upon their intent and documentation in the medical record as well as discuss the 2022 new CPT codes related to remote therapeutic monitoring. The webinar will provide case scenarios to teach participants how to bill correctly to the Medicare program as well as non-Medicare insurance carriers. Click below to learn more about the course objectives or to purchase by credit card or check.  

TRICARE updated their physical therapy policy manual on February 26, 2020. Updates to this manual include Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) and Dry Needling. In addition, TRICARE lists more than 16 interventions and services that are excluded from payment in this policy. If you treat TRICARE patients, this is a must-read policy. To access the policy, click

Effective January 1, 2020, there were 2 new CPT codes to describe dry needling. They are as follows: 20560 – Needle insertion(s) without injection(s), 1 or 2 muscle(s) 20561 – Needle insertion(s) without injection(s), 3 or more muscle(s) Unfortunately, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) gave these 2 CPT codes a non-covered status for payment under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS). This meant that if a physical therapist performed dry needling on a Medicare beneficiary who had traditional Medicare as their insurance, CMS would not pay for this service. Since dry needling is non-covered by CMS, this

Since in calendar year 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has decided that the new 2 dry needling CPT codes are non-covered, physical therapists want to know if there are other CPT codes that could possibly be billed instead and be paid by the Medicare program and other insurance carriers if performing needle insertion. QuestionIf I provide electrical stimulation through the needles, can I bill for this as unattended electrical stimulation or manual electrical stimulation? AnswerThe simple and straightforward answer is For additional information on dry needling, read “Will CMS Pay for Dry Needling in 2020” and also

In calendar year (CY) 2020, there will be 6 new CPT codes applicable to outpatient therapy services. The AMA also released 3 new Level II HCPCS codes that may or may not be applicable to physical therapists, occupational therapists and/or speech-language pathologists. In addition, there are 5 CPT codes and 1 Level II code being deleted in 2020. Question What are the new CPT codes for calendar year 2020 applicable to outpatient therapy services? Answer Question Will the Multiple Procedure Payment Reduction (MPPR) policy apply to the new CPT codes? Answer Question What are the three new Level II HCPCS codes