Practitioners:
Commas Required as Diagnosis Pointers
The CMS-1500 billing guidelines for Field 24E require the entry of diagnosis code reference numbers, also referred to as a “pointer” from Field 21. Always place a comma between the diagnosis pointers in section 24E. If there are three diagnoses that relate to a procedure, a comma should be placed between the pointer numbers 1 and 2 and 3, such as this: 1,2,3. Medicaid claims are currently denying because of the missing commas between the pointer numbers in 24E. When the commas are missing, the digits 123 are viewed and treated by the Medicaid computer system as a real diagnosis code, rather than pointer numbers. The claim is denied as only pointers must be entered in Field 24E, not diagnosis codes. To prevent this unnecessary claim denial, please remember to enter the comma between the pointer numbers.