Summary & Overview
HCPCS Q4031: Pediatric Long Leg Plaster Cast Supplies
HCPCS Level II code Q4031 identifies pediatric plaster long leg cast supplies for children aged 0–10 years. This code captures the material component of a pediatric long leg cast and is used across clinical settings where pediatric casting is performed. The code matters nationally because it standardizes reporting for pediatric casting supplies, supports consistent supply cost capture, and affects billing workflows in emergency departments, outpatient orthopedic clinics, ambulatory surgery centers, and inpatient pediatric units.
Key payers addressed in this overview include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find a concise description of the clinical context and typical sites of service, plus guidance on what the broader publication covers: benchmark metrics and utilization patterns, payer coverage considerations, coding and billing practice notes, and relevant policy updates that affect supply coding and reimbursement. The report highlights standard use cases for Q4031, limitations in available input data, and where readers can expect deeper detail in the full publication, including modifier usage, related taxonomies, claim-line reporting, and alignment with diagnosis coding.
Billing Code Overview
HCPCS Level II code Q4031 describes cast supplies, long leg cast, pediatric (0-10 years), plaster. The service represents provision of materials and supplies specific to application of a plaster long leg cast for pediatric patients up to 10 years of age.
Service type: Orthopedic supply for casting
Typical site of service: Outpatient clinics, emergency departments, ambulatory surgery centers, and inpatient wards where pediatric orthopedic casting is performed
Data not available in the input.
Clinical & Coding Specifications
Clinical Context
A 6-year-old child presents to a pediatric orthopedics clinic and urgent care after a playground fall with pain, swelling, and deformity of the lower leg. Plain radiographs confirm a nondisplaced distal tibial fracture without open wound. The orthopedist elects to immobilize the limb with a long leg plaster cast appropriate for pediatric patients aged 0–10 years. The clinical workflow includes pre-procedure consent, neurovascular exam documentation, cast application using plaster materials sized for a long leg pediatric cast, post-application neurovascular check, patient/caregiver cast care instructions, and scheduling of follow-up radiographs and cast removal in clinic.
Typical site of service: outpatient orthopedic clinic, pediatric urgent care, or emergency department.
Service type: application of pediatric long leg cast supplies using plaster material under cast application service; supplies billed separately using the HCPCS Level II supply code Q4031.
Coding Specifications
| Modifier | Description | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
LT | Left side | Use when the cast is applied to the left lower extremity. |