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CMS-1403-FC
C. Interim 2008 Codes
1. Orthopedic Fracture Treatment Codes
Orthopedic fracture treatment codes were originally
part of the third 5-Year Review of work RVUs. The codes
were referred by the AMA RUC to the AMA’s CPT Editorial
Panel for further clarification because it was unclear
whether the previous valuation for these codes included the
circumstance when both internal and external fixation is
applied to the fracture site. The CPT Editorial Panel
agreed the codes needed further clarification and removed
the reference relating to external fixation from the codes.
As a result, the AMA RUC examined the various families
of fracture codes and recommended increased work RVUs for
most of the codes. The codes were submitted to CMS as part
of the new and revised codes for CY 2008. Although we
agreed with the work RVU recommendations and rank order
listing of the codes in each family, the increase in
valuation of the services created BN issues within certain
fracture code families. In order to retain BN within these
families of codes, the work RVUs associated with each code
were adjusted. That is, the work RVUs were adjusted so
that the sum of the new or revised work RVUs (weighted by
projected frequency of use) for each family would be the
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