The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved coverage and coding for abdominal ultrasound with contrast under the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (HOPPS), beginning October 1, according to contrast developer Bracco Diagnostics.
Both liver and abdominal ultrasound procedures with contrast can be assigned Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) code C974 when performed in the hospital outpatient setting, the company said.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's March 31 approval of Bracco's Lumason ultrasound contrast agent to characterize focal liver lesions allowed the company to proceed with a submission for ultrasound of the liver and/or abdomen with contrast, Bracco said. Lumason has been marketed as SonoVue for more than 14 years in over 40 countries.
