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Use Of Medicare Billing For Smoking Cessation Counseling, Mary Sale, Lynne Goebel

Lynne J. Goebel

In March 2005, Medicare approved reimbursement for tobacco cessation counseling for patients with smoking-related illnesses. The temporary billing codes established in 2005 cover counseling sessions of 3 to 10 minutes or longer than 10 minutes for patients who use tobacco products and have a smoking-related illness as defined by the U.S. Surgeon General. The coverage includes two attempts per year, defined as up to four counseling sessions per attempt. It was hypothesized that billing for tobacco cessation counseling in Medicare beneficiaries may be underused.