2022 Acupuncture CPT Codes for Insurance Billing

The world of insurance billing is complex, and even more so for holistic practices. Accurate coding and billing practices ensure a streamlined reimbursement process so your practice can get paid and deliver the best care to your patients.

Current Procedure Terminology, or CPT codes, are used to document the majority of medical procedures performed by health care providers. These medical billing codes characterize the type of procedure being done so providers can properly bill insurance companies and receive reimbursements for administered services.

Acupuncture practices use codes that correspond to their unique services. Since services are usually coded in 15-minute increments, you will use one code for the initial 15 minutes of service and then a separate code for additional units of time; acupuncture CPT codes will only vary if you include electronic stimulation in your treatment.

Why is Using the Correct Acupuncture Billing Codes Important?

When it comes to holistic practices, ensuring accurate billing and coding is an important indicator of a practice’s financial health since mistakes can result in costly fines and reimbursement delays. Some estimates find inaccurate coding and billing can result in errors on up to 80% of medical bills – resulting in weeks of editing and resubmissions that delay reimbursement and waste time for your staff.

If your holistic practice continues to make mistakes with acupuncture codes, you can have increased denial rates and declining insurance reimbursements, which could put your practice at risk. Accurate acupuncture CPT codes and billing practices can help ensure your holistic practice reaches its full revenue potential.

New Billing Codes for 2022

The American Medical Association (AMA) stated that 43 percent of changes in the 2022 CPT code set are related to new technology services and the expansion of the proprietary laboratory analyses (PLA) code set; 15 codes tied to COVID vaccine procedures were also added.

New codes to handle remote therapeutic monitoring were added:

• 98975
• 98976
• 98977
• 98980
• 98981

Plus, new codes for principal care management were included:

• 99424
• 99425
• 99426
• 99427

These codes will allow providers to report care management services for patients with chronic conditions, such as lower back pain, in an effort to improve monitoring these complex health problems.

Top 4 Essential Acupuncture Billing Codes

The bulk of the services you will bill to insurance will likely fall under four essential acupuncture CPT codes. Since acupuncture services are always billed in 15-minute increments, your practice will use one code for the initial 15 minutes of service and then a separate code for additional units of time. Your acupuncture billing codes will only vary if you include electronic stimulation in your treatment.

• 97810 Initial Acupuncture: Initial 15-minute insertion of needles, personal one-on-one contact with the patient. (Do not report in conjunction with 97813; use one or the other.)
• 97811 Subsequent Unit of Acupuncture: Use one unit per each additional 15 minutes of personal one-on-one contact with the patient after the initial 15 minutes, with re-insertion of needles. (May be used in conjunction with either 97810 or 97813)
• 97813 Initial Acupuncture with Electrical Stimulation: Initial 15-minute insertion of needles, personal one-on-one contact with the patient. (Do not report in conjunction with 97810; use one or the other.)
• 97814 Subsequent Unit of Acupuncture with Electrical Stimulation: Use one unit per each additional 15 minutes of personal one-on-one contact with the patient, with re-insertion of needles. (May be used in conjunction with either 97810 or 97813)

Acupuncture Billing Codes for Medicare

January marks the two year anniversary of Medicare expanding their coverage options to include acupuncture for treating chronic lower back pain. CPT codes related to billing Medicare for acupuncture treatments are as follows:

• 97810: Acupuncture, one or more needles, without electrical stimulation, initial 15 minutes of personal one-on-one contact with the patient

• 97811: Each additional 15 minutes of personal one-on-one contact with the patient, with re-insertion of needles

• 97813: Acupuncture, one or more needles, with electrical stimulation, initial 15 minutes of personal one-on-one contact with the patient

• 97814: Each additional 15 minutes of personal one-on-one contact with the patient, with re-insertion of needles

• 20560: Services with needle insertion(s) without injection(s) of 1 or 2 muscle(s)

• 20561: Services with needle insertion(s) without injection(s) of 3 or more muscle(s)

Prices will depend on the region of your holistic practice; look up specific codes based on your location here.

Codes for Patients

Medical billing codes for patients can be broken down into two categories, new and returning patients:

New Patients Billing Codes

Use these acupuncture CPT codes for when your holistic practice receives new patients. As a reminder, a new patient is defined as a patient who hasn’t received professional services from you or another provider of the same specialty who has belonged to your practice within the past three years.

• 99201 Evaluation/Management (Limited): Presenting problems are self-limited or minor: requires a problem-focused history, problem-focused examination, and straightforward medical decision-making; the provider typically spends 10 minutes face-to-face with the patient
• 99202 Evaluation/Management (Expanded): Presenting problems are of low to moderate severity; requires an expanded problem-focused history, an expanded problem-focused examination, and straightforward medical decision-making; the provider typically spends 20 minutes face-to-face with the patient
• 99203 Evaluation/Management (Detailed): Presenting problems are of moderate severity; requires a detailed history, a detailed examination, and medical decision-making of low complexity; the provider typically spends 30 minutes face-to-face with the patient
• 99204 Evaluation/Management (Comprehensive): Presenting problems are of moderate to high severity; requires a comprehensive history, a comprehensive examination, and medical decision-making of moderate complexity; the provider typically spends 45 minutes face-to-face with the patient

Returning Patients Billing Codes

These CPT codes for acupuncture can be used for your established patients. Returning patients are those who have received any professional services from you or another provider of the same specialty who has belonged to your practice within the past three years

• 99211 Evaluation/Management (Minimal): Presenting problems are minimal; the provider typically spends five minutes face-to-face with the patient
• 99212 Evaluation/Management (Limited): Presenting problems are self-limited or minor; requires a problem-focused history, a problem-focused examination, and straightforward decision-making; the provider typically spends 10 minutes face-to-face with the patient
• 99213 Evaluation/Management (Expanded): Presenting problems are of low to moderate severity; requires an expanded problem-focused history, expanded problem-focused examination, and medical decision-making of low complexity; the provider typically spends 15 minutes face-to-face with the patient
• 99214 Evaluation/Management (Detailed): Presenting problem(s) are of moderate to high severity; requires a detailed history, a detailed examination, and medical decision-making of moderate complexity; providers typically spend 25 minutes face-to-face with the patient

Acupuncture CPT Codes for Physical Therapy Treatments

Acupuncture practices use a variety of treatments and modalities to help their patients. These treatments and modalities help strengthen, relax, and heal muscles. Below are a few commonly-used acupuncture CPT codes your practice may encounter.

• 20550 & 20551 Tendon Injection: Single tendon injection for the treatment of fasciitis. Could include multiple injections into a single tendon sheath (CPT code 20550) or the tendon origin (CPT code 20551)
• 20552 & 20553 Muscle Injection(s): Injections involving single or multiple trigger points. Could be used to treat one or two muscles (CPT code 20552) or three or more muscles (CPT code 20553)
• 97010 Heat Therapy: Application of a modality to one or more areas; hot or cold packs
• 97016 Cupping: The use of a vasopneumatic device may be considered reasonable and necessary for the application of pressure to an extremity for the purpose of reducing edema
• 97026 Infrared Therapy: The application of infrared therapy is considered medically necessary for patients requiring the application of superficial heat in conjunction with other procedures or modalities to reduce or decrease pain/produce analgesia or reduce stiffness/tension, myalgia, spasm, or swelling
• 97110 Therapeutic Exercise: One or more areas, every 15 minutes; therapeutic procedures to develop strength and endurance, range of motion, and flexibility with direct (one-on-one) patient contact
• 97112 Neuromuscular Reeducation: Treatments to restore movement, balance, coordination, kinesthetic sense, posture, and/or proprioception for sitting and/or standing activities with direct (one-on-one) patient contact
• 97140 Manual Therapy: Techniques such as mobilization and manipulation, manual lymphatic drainage, and manual traction, one or more regions, every 15 minutes with direct (one-on-one) patient contact
• 97124 Massage Therapy: Includes effleurage, petrissage, and/or tapotement (stroking, compression, percussion) with direct (one-on-one) patient contact
• 97530 Kinetic Activities: Use of dynamic activities to improve functional performance, every 15 minutes with direct (one-on-one) patient contact

Improve Your Acupuncture Practice’s Billing Processes and Revenue Cycle Management with HBS!

Documenting and billing the right acupuncture codes for insurance reimbursement can be a time-consuming process. No acupuncture practice wants to spend more time billing and coding than it does treating patients and expanding its practice. That’s where an experienced medical billing company with acupuncture CPT code experience can be an invaluable partner.

The team at Holistic Billing Services understands the unique needs of acupuncture practices and has extensive experience working with acupuncture codes to ensure you’re billing patients and insurance companies correctly. With our help, you can start seeing patients covered by insurance quickly and painlessly, no matter what type of acupuncture services you offer.
To learn more about how Holistic Billing can help streamline your practice and accelerate your revenue cycle management, contact our team today.