How Would Your Organization Defend This Auditing Accusation?

May 23rd, 2022 - Aimee L. Wilcox, CPMA, CCS-P, CST, MA, MT
Categories:   Office of Inspector General (OIG)   Risk Adjustment   

In May 2021, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) published their report of their audit findings from a risk adjustment contract with Anthem titled,

Medicare Advantage Compliance Audit of Specific Diagnosis Codes that Anthem Community Insurance Company, Inc., (Contract H3655) Submitted to CMS.

The OIG used an independent audit contractor to perform the audit and reported the findings along with a demand for repayment of the monies. Anthem responded with their own audit findings and the full report is available to review by clicking HERE. For the remainder of this report we will only refer to the OIG's independent audit contractor as just the OIG.

What the OIG Discovered

The OIG stated that for one enrollee year, the independent contract auditors (ICAs) reviewed medical records for claims reporting major depressive disorder (MDD) to determine if the documentation was from a face-to-face encounter and supported the diagnosis. For reference, the following codes are used to report major depressive disorder, either for a single episode or a recurrent episode. The information in the second column of the table is the correlating HCC for CMS and HHS plans. Those marked with a 0 indicate the code does not correlate with an HCC or risk adjust for the HHS plans.

F32.0 Major depressive disorder, single episode, mild CMS-59/HHS-0
F32.1 Major depressive disorder, single episode, moderate CMS-59/HHS-0
F32.2 Major depressive disorder, single episode, severe without psychotic features CMS-59/HHS-88
F32.3 Major depressive disorder, single episode, with psychotic features CMS-59/HHS-88
F32.4 Major depressive disorder, single episode, in partial remission CMS-59/HHS-0
F32.5 Major depressive disorder, single episode, in full remission CMS-59/HHS-0
F33.0 Major depressive disorder, recurrent, mild CMS-59/HHS-0
F33.1 Major depressive disorder, recurrent, moderate CMS-59/HHS-0
F33.2 Major depressive disorder, recurrent, severe without psychotic symptoms CMS-59/HHS-88
F33.3 Major depressive disorder, recurrent, severe with psychotic symptoms CMS-59/HHS-88
F33.40 Major depressive disorder, recurrent, in remission, unspecified CMS-59/HHS-0
F33.41 Major depressive disorder, recurrent, in partial remission CMS-59/HHS-0
F33.42 Major depressive disorder, recurrent, in full remission CMS-59/HHS-0
F33.8  Other recurrent depressive disorders CMS-59/HHS-0
F33.9  Major depressive disorder, recurrent, unspecified CMS-59/HHS-0

The OIG's report indicates that for one enrollee year, the provider's documentation did not support the HCC for MDD because the diagnosis documented was "mild depression," which does not map to an HCC

Coding Tip: "F32.A Depression, unspecified" was newly added to ICD-10-CM with an effective date of October 1, 2021 and does not risk adjust.

Anthem's review of these findings was interesting and teaches lessons to both physician's, risk adjustment payers, and coding/auditing staff alike. Anthem not only audited the OIG findings, but they also performed a comprehensive review of the medical record, which provided additional documentation to support the diagnosis of major depressive disorder, mild, (MDD) stating the following:

"OIG's independent medical review contractor has misinterpreted the medical record. The provider documented "mild depression," and in the context of the entire medical record and consistent with clinical diagnostic standards, the term "mild" should be read to modify major depressive disorder. The most widely accepted definitions of mental health conditions can be found in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders V ("DSM-V"). The DSM-V states that major depressive disorder can be either mild, moderate, or severe—there is no separate diagnosis in the DSM-V for "mild depression."

Anthem stated the medical record shows the patient was suffering from symptoms of depressed mood, difficulty sleeping, and fatigue, and indicated in the medical record that these symptoms were affecting the patient's daily functioning. The provider also documented a recommendation that the patient "resume social interaction."

Anthem also went on to clarify the code descriptions for major depressive disorder, which contain levels of severity such as mild, moderate, and severe, whereas there are no general depression codes with a severity rating that can be explained by the symptoms of major depressive disorder.

Often auditors are looking at the medical record with the single goal of finding an error or defending an error instead of actually reviewing the record at face value and comparing it with the ICD-10-CM code descriptions. Little nuggets of information like this can help payers and providers alike stay on top of documentation and coding policies to avoid painful audits like these. Take the time to review the full report and find out what other lessons can be learned in the pursuit of quality care and proper reimbursement for services.

###

Questions, comments?

If you have questions or comments about this article please contact us.  Comments that provide additional related information may be added here by our Editors.


Latest articles:  (any category)

COVID Vaccine Coding Changes as of November 1, 2023
October 26th, 2023 - Wyn Staheli
COVID vaccine changes due to the end of the PHE as of November 1, 2023 are addressed in this article.
Medicare Guidance Changes for E/M Services
October 11th, 2023 - Wyn Staheli
2023 brought quite a few changes to Evaluation and management (E/M) services. The significant revisions as noted in the CPT codebook were welcome changes to bring other E/M services more in line with the changes that took place with Office or Other Outpatient Services a few years ago. As part of CMS’ Medicare Learning Network, the “Evaluation and Management Services Guide” publication was finally updated as of August 2023 to include the changes that took place in 2023. If you take a look at the new publication (see references below),....
Can We Score Interpretation of an EKG Towards E/M Medical Decision Making?
October 10th, 2023 - Aimee Wilcox
When EKGs are performed in the facility setting or even in the physician's office, what are the requirements for reporting the service and who gets credit for scoring data points for Evaluation and Management (E/M) medical decision making (MDM)? Let's take a look at a few coding scenarios related to EKG services to get a better understanding of why this can be problematic.
Accurately Reporting Signs and Symptoms with ICD-10-CM Codes
October 5th, 2023 - Aimee Wilcox
Coders often find themselves unsure of when to report a sign or symptom code documented in the medical record. Some coders find their organization has an EHR that requires a working diagnosis, which is usually a sign or symptom, be entered to order a test or diagnostic study or image. Understanding the guidelines surrounding when signs and symptoms should be reported is the first step in correct coding so let's take a look at some scenarios.
The 2024 ICD-10-CM Updates Include New Codes for Reporting Metabolic Disorders and Insulin Resistance
September 19th, 2023 - Aimee Wilcox
Diabetes is a chronic disease that just seems to consistently be increasing instead of improving resulting in a constant endeavor by medical researchers to identify causal effects and possible treatments. One underlying or precipitating condition that scientists have identified as a precipitating factor in the development of diabetes is insulin resistance, which is a known metabolic disorder. As data becomes available through claims reporting, additional code options become possible with ICD-10-CM.
Documenting and Reporting Postoperative Visits
September 12th, 2023 - Aimee Wilcox
Sometimes we receive questions regarding documentation requirements for specific codes or coding requirements and we respond with information and resources to support our answers. The following question was recently submitted: Are providers required to report postoperative services on claims using 99024, especially if there is no payment for that service? What documentation is required if you are reporting an unrelated Evaluation and Management (E/M) service by the same physician during the postoperative period? 
Understanding Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease and ICD-10-CM Coding
August 22nd, 2023 - Aimee Wilcox
Gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD for short, is a disease that impacts millions of Americans on a weekly basis. Symptoms are uncomfortable, as are some of the tests used to diagnose it, but understanding the disease, tests, and treatments helps us better understand how to code the disease using ICD-10-CM codes.



Home About Terms Privacy

innoviHealth® - 62 E 300 North, Spanish Fork, UT 84660 - Phone 801-770-4203 (9-5 Mountain)

Copyright © 2000-2023 innoviHealth Systems®, Inc. - CPT® copyright American Medical Association