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ISASS supports decision making at the physician-patient level based on medical necessity and achieving the best outcomes to address the patient’s medical condition. Medical necessity should not be determined by a mere administrative code reporting system such as CPT. Prior to the July 1st implementation of CPT category III code 0334T, surgeons reported and were reimbursed for ALL sacroiliac joint fusion procedures when medically necessary, including minimally invasive, through the use of CPT code 27280. To determine procedural approach prevalence associated with CPT code 27280, ISASS and the Society of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgeons conducted a survey of surgeons, and found that in 2012, nearly 90 percent of all SIJ fusions were performed using a minimally invasive approach. Yet despite […]

May 20, 2013 Don W Bradley, MD, MHS-CL Vice-President for Healthcare and CMO Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina P.O. Box 2291 Durham, NC 27702 Dear Dr. Bradley: I am writing you on behalf of International Advocates for Spine Patients (IASP) as well as the patient population of North Carolina. IASP is an organization supported by physicians and patients dedicated to advocacy for high quality, widely accessible and cost effective spine care for patients around the world. I am on the Board of IASP (a sister organization to the International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery-ISASS) which was formed in 2011 to complement ISASS’ educational and scientific mission through direct advocacy efforts on the behalf of spine […]