Procedure codes (CPT & HCPCS) :

CPT Code Code Description

R0070 Transportation of portable x-ray equipment and personnel to home or nursing home, per trip to facility or location, one patient seen

R0075 Transportation of portable x-ray equipment and personnel to home or nursing home, per trip to facility or location, more than one patient seen

Reimbursement Guidelines
Effective for claims processed on or after July 29, 2018,Moda Health follows CMS guidelines in  allowing a  single  transportation  payment  for  each  trip  the  portable  x – ray provider makes transporting  x-ray equipment to a particular location.(CMS  1 ) When more than one patient is x-rayed at the same location ( e.g.,  a  nursing  home ), the allowable  amount  for  the transportation  service  will  be  reduced  (prorated) based upon the total number of patients receiving the portable x – ray services during that trip, regardless of their insurance status.

* If only one patient is served,  report procedure code  R0070 with no modifier,since the descriptor for this code reflects only one patient seen. 

* If more than one patient receives portable x-ray services during that trip, report R0075, regardless of whether or not all the patients have insurance, or under which carrier.

Note: When the x-ray equipment used is actually transported to the location where the x-ray was taken, then a transportation service may be billed.  If the x-ray equipment used is stored in the location where the x-ray was done (e.g., a nursing home) for use as needed, then an equipmenttransportation service (R0070, R0075) may not be billed.

HCPCS code R0075 must be billed with one of the following modifiers, to indicate how many patients wereserved on that trip to the facility or location. The allowable fee forR0075 will be adjusted based upon the modifier used.

Modifier Modifier Definition  Payment Adjustment

Modifier  UN Two patients served D ivided by 2 (50%)

Modifier UP Three patients served Divided by 3 (33.3%)

Modifier UQ Four patients served Divided by 4 (25%)

Modifier UR Five patients served Divided by 5 (20%)

Modifier US Six patients or more served Divided by 6, regardless of the number of  patients served (16.7%)

This component represents the transportation of the equipment to the patient. Establish local RVUs for the transportation R codes based on carrier knowledge of the nature of the service furnished. Carriers shall allow only a single transportation payment for each trip the portable x-ray supplier makes to a particular location. When more than one Medicare patient is x-rayed at the same location, e.g., a nursing home, prorate the single fee schedule transportation payment among all patients receiving the services. For example, if two patients at the same location receive x-rays, make one-half of the transportation payment for each.

R0075 must be billed in conjunction with the Procedure code radiology codes (7000 series) and only when the x-ray equipment used was actually transported to the location where the x-ray was taken. R0075 would not apply to the x-ray equipment stored in the location where the x-ray was done (e.g., a nursing home) for use as needed.salary and fringe benefits of the staff who determine the vehicles route (this could be proportional of office staff), repairs and maintenance of the vehicle(s), insurance for the vehicle(s), operating expenses for the vehicles and any other reasonable costs associated with this service as determined by the carrier. The carrier will have discretion for allocating indirect costs (those costs that cannot be directly attributed to portable x-ray transportation) between the transportation service and the technical component of the x-ray tests.
Suppliers may send carriers unsolicited cost information. The carrier may use this cost data as a comparison to its carrier priced determination. The data supplied should reflect a year’s worth (either calendar or corporate fiscal) of information. Each provider who submits such data is to be informed that the data is subject to verification and will be used to supplement other information that is used to determine Medicare’s payment rate.

Carriers are required to update the rate on an annual basis using independently determined measures of the cost of providing the service. A number of readily available measures (e.g., ambulance inflation factor, the Medicare economic index) that are used by the Medicare program to adjust payment rates for other types of services may be appropriate to use to update the rate for years that the carrier does not recalibrate the payment. Each carrier has the flexibility to identify the index it will use to update the rate. In addition, the carrier can consider locally identified factors that are measured independently of CMS as an adjunct to the annual adjustment.

NOTE: No transportation charge is payable unless the portable x-ray equipment used was actually transported to the location where the x-ray was taken. For example, carriers do not allow a transportation charge when the x-ray equipment is stored in a nursing home for use as needed. However, a set-up payment (see §90.4, below) is payable in such situations. Further, for services furnished on or after January 1, 1997, carriers may not make separate payment under HCPCS code R0076 for the transportation of EKG equipment by portable x-ray suppliers or any other entity.

Below are the definitions for each modifier that must be reported with R0075. Only one of these five modifiers shall be reported with R0075. NOTE: If only one patient is served, R0070 should be reported with no modifier since the descriptor for this code reflects only one patient seen.

UN – Two patients served
UP – Three patients served
UQ – Four patients served
UR – Five Patients served
US – Six or more patients served

Payment for the above modifiers must be consistent with the definition of the modifiers. Therefore, for R0075 reported with modifiers, -UN, -UP, -UQ, and –UR, the total payment for the service shall be divided by 2, 3, 4, and 5 respectively. For modifier –US, the total payment for the service shall be divided by 6 regardless of the number of patients served. For example, if 8 patients were served, R0075 would be reported with modifier –US and the total payment for this service would be divided by 6.

The units field for R0075 shall always be reported as “1” except in extremely unusual cases. The number in the units field should be completed in accordance with the provisions of 100-04, chapter 23, section 10.2 item 24 G which defines the units field as the number of times the patient has received the itemized service during the dates listed in the from/to field. The units field must never be used to report the number of patients served during a single trip. Specifically, the units field must reflect the number of services that the specific beneficiary received, not the number of services received by other beneficiaries.

As a carrier priced service, carriers must initially determine a payment rate for portable x-ray transportation services that is associated with the cost of providing the service. In order to determine an appropriate cost, the carrier should, at a minimum, cost out the vehicle, vehicle modifications, gasoline and the staff time involved in only the transportation for a portable x-ray service. A review of the pricing of this service should be done every five years.

Direct costs related to the vehicle carrying the x-ray machine are fully allocable to determining the payment rate. This includes the cost of the vehicle using a recognized depreciation method, the salary and fringe benefits associated with the staff who drive the vehicle, the communication equipment used between the vehicle and the home office, the salary and fringe benefits of the staff who determine the vehicles route (this could be proportional of office staff), repairs and maintenance of the vehicle(s), insurance for the vehicle(s), operating expenses for the vehicles and any other reasonable costs associated with this service as determined by the carrier. The carrier will have discretion for allocating indirect costs (those costs that cannot be directly attributed to portable x-ray transportation) between the transportation service and the technical component of the x-ray tests.

Suppliers may send carriers unsolicited cost information. The carrier may use this cost data as a comparison to its carrier priced determination. The data supplied should reflect a year’s worth (either calendar or corporate fiscal) of information. Each provider who submits such data is to be informed that the data is subject to verification and will be used to supplement other information that is used to determine Medicare’s payment rate.

Carriers are required to update the rate on an annual basis using independently determined measures of the cost of providing the service. A number of readily available measures (e.g., ambulance inflation factor, the Medicare economic index) that are used by the Medicare program to adjust payment rates for other types of services may be appropriate to use to update the rate for years that the carrier does not recalibrate the payment. Each carrier has the flexibility to identify the index it will use to update the rate. In addition, the carrier can consider locally identified factors that are measured independently of CMS as an adjunct to the annual adjustment.

NOTE: No transportation charge is payable unless the portable x-ray equipment used was actually transported to the location where the x-ray was taken. For example, carriers do not allow a transportation charge when the x-ray equipment is stored in a nursing home for use as needed. However, a set-up payment (see §90.4, below) is payable in such situations. Further, for services furnished on or after January 1, 1997, carriers may not make separate payment under HCPCS code R0076 for the transportation of EKG equipment by portable x-ray suppliers or any other entity.