Balloon ostial dilation for sinusitis requires referral but not clinical review, effective April 1, 2016

Effective with dates of service on or after April 1, 2016, balloon ostial dilation services associated with procedure codes *31295, *31296 and *31297 require referral to a provider contracted with BCN regardless of the treatment setting. Claims submitted with no referral on file will deny on the basis that the services are experimental and investigational. This applies to BCN HMO^SM (commercial) and BCN Advantage^SM members.

Balloon ostial dilation does not require clinical review.

The medical policy titled "Balloon Ostial Dilation for Treatment of Chronic Sinusitis" is available on BCN's Medical Policy Manual Web page. To access it, log in to Provider Secured Services, click BCN Provider Publications and Resources and click Medical Policy Manual. The policies are listed alphabetically by name.

* CPT codes, descriptions and two-digit numeric modifiers only are copyright 2015 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.

Posted: April 2016
Line of business: Blue Care Network