What’s New: Updates are being made to the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) lists of codes requiring prior authorization, for some commercial members, to reflect new, replaced or removed codes. These changes are based on updates from Utilization Management prior authorization assessment, Current Procedural Terminology (CPT®) code changes released by the American Medical Association (AMA) or Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) changes from the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services.
Changes effective Oct. 1, 2023 include:
- Addition of Specialty Pharmacy codes to be reviewed by BCBSTX
- Removal of a Radiation Oncology drug code previously reviewed by Carelon Medical Benefits Management (Carelon)
- Addition of a Musculoskeletal joint and spine code to be reviewed by Carelon
- Replacement of Genetic Testing codes reviewed by Carelon
More Information: Refer to Prior Authorization Lists on the Utilization Management section of our provider website, Revised lists can be found on the Prior Authorization Lists for Fully Insured and Administrative Services Only (ASO) Plans.
Check Eligibility and Benefits: To identify if a service requires prior authorization for our members, check eligibility and benefits through Availity® or your preferred vendor.
Avoid post-service medical necessity reviews and delays in claim processing by obtaining prior authorization before rendering services. If prior authorization is required, services performed without prior authorization or that do not meet medical necessity criteria may be denied for payment and the rendering provider may not seek reimbursement from the member.
CPT copyright 2022 American Medical Association (AMA). All rights reserved. CPT is a registered trademark of the AMA.
Availity is a trademark of Availity, L.L.C., a separate company that operates a health information network to provide electronic information exchange services to medical professionals. Availity provides administrative services to BCBSTX.
Carelon Health Benefits Management (Carelon) is an independent company that has contracted with BCBSTX to provide utilization management services for members with coverage through BCBSTX.