Reimbursement policy disclaimer

These policies serve as a guide to assist you in accurate claim submissions and to outline the basis for reimbursement if the service is covered by a member’s Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield (Anthem) benefit plan.

The determination that a service, procedure, item, etc. is covered under a member's benefit plan is not a determination that you will be reimbursed. Services must meet authorization and medical necessity guidelines appropriate to the procedure and diagnosis as well as to the member’s state of residence. You must follow proper billing and submission guidelines. You are required to use industry standard, compliant codes on all claim submissions.

Services should be billed with CPT^® codes, HCPCS codes, and/or revenue codes. The codes denote the services and/or procedures performed. The billed code(s) are required to be fully supported in the medical record and/or office notes. Unless otherwise noted within the policy, our policies apply to both participating and nonparticipating providers and facilities.

If appropriate coding/billing guidelines or current reimbursement policies are not followed, Anthem may:

• Reject or deny the claim
• Recover and/or recoup claim payment

Anthem’s reimbursement policies are developed based on nationally accepted industry standards and coding principles. These policies may be superseded by mandates in provider, state, federal, or CMS contracts and/or requirements. System logic or set-up may prevent the loading of policies into the claims platforms in the same manner as described; however, Anthem strives to minimize these variations.

Anthem reserves the right to review and revise its policies periodically when necessary. When there is an update, we will publish the most current policy to this site.