[cancer|help] Trying to crowdsource key medical coding info about whole genome sequencing

[jaylake]

Dad is helping me apply to my insurance company for reimbursement for the Whole Genome Sequencing. While they have been very cooperative, we have inevitably become mired in bureaucratic challenges. We think we have found all the answers except one.

The insurance company wants a CPT code for Whole Genome Sequencing. However, Illumina, the lab that

Comments

[wyld_dandelyon]

I know the answer is almost certainly"yes", but have you asked the staff at your oncologists' offices?

[jaylake]

Yes. They do not have an answer.

[wyld_dandelyon]

I figured you probably had, but even without chemo-brain, people miss the obvious sometimes.

I'm glad to see you got more useful answers below!

[jonhansen]

CPT codes are determined by the American Medical Association. There's one of those About pages that covers how to look things up there:
http://patients.about.com/od/medicalcodes/a/How-To-Look-Up-A-Cpt-Code-And-Its-Corresponding-Relative-Value-Amount-Rvu.htm

From the AMA DB Jonhansen gave

[a_cubed]

81317 PMS2 (postmeiotic segregation increased 2 [S. cerevisiae]) (eg, hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer, Lynch syndrome) gene analysis; full sequence analysis

a search on genome sequence didn't bring it up but "sequence" had 25 hits including three that look to be "full sequence analysis" and this one is for colorectal cancer, the others being different types of cancer (oh, and fuck cancer, while we're talking about the horrible thing).

HTH.

[icedrake]

If you're still fighting with this question next week, I know someone who works in medical billing, but I won't see her until Tuesday.

[seventorches]

Wow. That's like...a first-future problem. Mind bending!