HCPCS Codes Reflect New Technology
The codes reflect the growing use of the technology, commonly called CROS/BiCROS hearing devices. According to the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASLHA), CROS/BiCROS codes were introduced in the 1980s for dedicated systems aiding patients with single-sided deafness or unavoidable hearing loss in one ear and partial deafness in the others. ASLHA points out the old codes didn’t adequately indicate the patient was receive both a hearing aid and a contralateral routing device. It was impossible to report the device if a patient already had a hearing aid.
The new codes use the phrase “contralateral routing device or system” to better differentiate advancements to the technology that make the devices more accessible to patients. ASLHA recommends using the monaural codes for one routing device and the binaural for two. The new codes are:
V5171 Hearing aid, contralateral routing device, monaural, in the ear (ITE)
V5172 Hearing aid, contralateral routing device, monaural, in the canal (ITC)
V5181 Hearing aid, contralateral routing device, monaural, behind the ear (BTE)
V5211 Hearing aid, contralateral routing system, binaural, ITE/ITE
V5212 Hearing aid, contralateral routing system, binaural, ITE/ITC
V5213 Hearing aid, contralateral routing system, binaural, ITE/BTE
V5214 Hearing aid, contralateral routing system, binaural, ITC/ITC
V5215 Hearing aid, contralateral routing system, binaural, ITC/BTE
V5221 Hearing aid, contralateral routing system, binaural, BTE/BTE
Four existing codes were revised from CROS to BiCROS” to “monaural or binaural contralateral routing”. They are:
V5190 Hearing aid, contralateral routing, monaural, glasses
V5200 Dispensing fee, contralateral, monaural
V5230 Hearing aid, contralateral routing system, binaural, glasses
V5240 Dispensing fee, contralateral routing system, binaural
