Death by CPT code

From "Imaging Economics" Website

CPT codes — “current procedural terminology” — have become the bane of my existence.  My title is a bit hyperbolic, true, but the codes at the very least are trying my patience.  My family is lucky that we have health care through my employer, and the care is actually quite good, but the system that controls the billing codes is complicated, burdensome, and inefficient.

Because Monkey Man sees an occupational and a physical therapist on a regular basis, the bills often come to me in various states of inaccuracy, and I have recently spent quit a few hours on the phone with my insurance company and with the billing offices of the medical service providers, both of whom have made mistakes in billing and the paperwork that governs how services are meted out.

I am well-educated, and I have learned that when you have a child who needs services, you have to advocate for yourself and your child — no one will do it for you.  I am not averse to calling the insurance provider or the hospital, but it sure seems that these systems would be incredibly difficult to navigate if you did not have resources like a good education and an awareness of how the system works. The system also requires time to manage, and luckily I can find that time.

When I searched for images of CPT codes, I was not surprised by the sheer volume of charts, tables, and graphs. Business is certainly a part of the medical system, but the constant production of and management of CPT codes and other patient information seems out of synch with the needs of patients.  In this election, I am hoping that big business does not win the day — health care should be available to everyone who needs it, and the CPT codes should not determine who can have what services.

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