CurrentSelectHealthPolicy 48

Reimbursement for Placement of Postoperative Pain Pump Catheters

This policy governs SelectHealth's reimbursement stance on separate payment for placement of postoperative pain pump catheters across Commercial, Medicare (Select Health Advantage), and Medicaid/CHIP (Select Health Community Care) products.

Policy Summary

PayerSelectHealth

PolicyReimbursement for Placement of Postoperative Pain Pump Catheters

Policy CodePolicy 48

Change TypeNo material change

Effective DateJan 1, 2008

Next Review Date

Key ActionDo not bill separately for placement of pain pump catheter(s); considered incidental to the primary procedure.

SourceLink

POLICY UPDATE CHANGES

No material clinical or coverage changes in this revision.

not reimbursedplacement of pain pump catheter(s) considered incidental

Commercial/Medicare/CHIP/Medicaidplans referenced

nonecodes describing placement

1/1/08policy effective/implementation date

Coverage Determination

Trek Health ingests and normalizes Transparency in Coverage data and payer policy updates to give provider organizations a clear view of how commercial reimbursement behaves across markets, payers, and services. Our platform transforms raw payer disclosures into structured intelligence that supports contract evaluation, payer negotiations, and service line strategy. By combining market benchmarks with ongoing policy visibility, Trek helps teams identify variability, risk, and opportunity in commercial reimbursement. The result is faster insight, stronger negotiating positions, and more informed financial decisions.

Applicable Codes

Applicable codesmixed

No CPT or HCPCS codes describe placement of a pump catheter

Code availability

CPT/HCPCS code availabilityNo CPT or HCPCS codes describe placement of a pump catheter.

Implication for billingPlacement of pain pump catheter(s) is not assigned a specific procedure code for separate reimbursement.

Reference practiceUse existing primary procedure code; catheter placement is considered incidental to the primary procedure.

Definitions

Definition: pain pump

Device descriptionPortable, non‑electronic balloon infuser that delivers continuous infusion of local anesthetic through one or more catheters placed at the operative site.

Patient capabilityPatients may press a bolus button while wearing the pump to receive additional doses of non‑narcotic medication.

ConnectionThe catheter is connected to the pump, which provides the infusion of the local anesthetic.

Use caseUsed postoperatively to provide local anesthetic infusion at the surgical site.