Cold Therapy - Policy Article

**NON-MEDICAL NECESSITY COVERAGE AND PAYMENT RULES:**

For any item to be covered by Medicare, it must 1) be eligible for a defined
Medicare benefit category, 2) be reasonable and necessary for the diagnosis or
treatment of illness or injury or to improve the functioning of a malformed
body member, and 3) meet all other applicable Medicare statutory and
regulatory requirements. Information provided in this policy article relates
to determinations other than those based on Social Security Act 1862(a)(1)(A)
provisions (i.e. "reasonable and necessary").

Cold therapy devices are covered under the Durable Medical Equipment benefit
(Social Security Act 1861(s)(6)). In order for a beneficiary's equipment to
be eligible for reimbursement the reasonable and necessary (R&N) requirements
set out in the related Local Coverage Determination must be met. In addition,
there are specific statutory payment policy requirements, discussed below,
that also must be met.

**REQUIREMENTS FOR SPECIFIC DMEPOS ITEMS PURSUANT TO FINAL RULE 1713 (84 Fed.
Reg Vol 217)**

Final Rule 1713 (84 Fed. Reg Vol 217) requires a face-to-face encounter and a
Written Order Prior to Delivery (WOPD) for specified HCPCS codes. CMS and the
DME MACs provide a list of the specified codes, which is periodically updated.
The required Face-to-Face Encounter and Written Order Prior to Delivery List
is available [here](https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-
Systems/Monitoring-Programs/Medicare-FFS-Compliance-Programs/Medical-
Review/FacetoFaceEncounterRequirementforCertainDurableMedicalEquipment).

Claims for the specified items subject to Final Rule 1713 (84 Fed. Reg Vol
217) that do not meet the face-to-face encounter and WOPD requirements
specified in the LCD-related Standard Documentation Requirements Article
(A55426) will be denied as not reasonable and necessary.

If a supplier delivers an item prior to receipt of a WOPD, it will be denied
as not reasonable and necessary. If the WOPD is not obtained prior to
delivery, payment will not be made for that item even if a WOPD is
subsequently obtained by the supplier. If a similar item is subsequently
provided by an unrelated supplier who has obtained a WOPD prior to delivery,
it will be eligible for coverage.

**POLICY SPECIFIC DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS**

In addition to policy specific documentation requirements, there are general
documentation requirements that are applicable to all DMEPOS policies. These
general requirements are located in the DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS section of
the LCD.

Refer to the LCD-related Standard Documentation Requirements article, located
at the bottom of this Policy Article under the Related Local Coverage
Documents section for additional information regarding GENERAL DOCUMENTATION
REQUIREMENTS and the POLICY SPECIFIC DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS.

**CODING GUIDELINES**

Code A9270 is used for billing non DME items such as:

  * disposable single use fluid packs which generate cold temperature by a chemical reaction,

  * devices in which ice water is put in a reservoir and then circulated through a pad by means of gravity or

  * self-made containers used to administer cold therapy.

Code A9273 describes products such as insulated cold or hot bottles, ice caps
or collars, heat and/or cold wraps of any type that are reusable.

Code E0218 describes a device which has an electric pump that circulates cold
fluid through a pad.

Suppliers should contact the Pricing, Data Analysis and Coding (PDAC)
Contractor for guidance on the correct coding of these items.