Review of Medicare Part B Claims for Intravitreal Injections of Eylea and Lucentis

Medicare Part B covers ophthalmology services that are reasonable and necessary for the diagnosis or treatment of illness or injury or to improve the functioning of a malformed body member. Ophthalmology services include intravitreal injections of Eylea and Lucentis to treat eye diseases such as wet age-related macular degeneration. Medicare pays for an intravitreal injection (which is considered a minor surgery) as part of a global surgical package that includes the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative services routinely performed by the physician. Medicare pays for Eylea and Lucentis separately from the intravitreal injection. Chapter 12, section 40.1 of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Medicare Claims Processing Manual states that separate payment can be made for other services provided by the same physician on the same day as the global surgery if the services are significant and separately identifiable or unrelated to the surgery. We will review claims for intravitreal injections of Eylea and/or Lucentis and the other services billed on the same day as the injection, including evaluation and management services, to determine whether the services were reasonable and necessary and met Medicare requirements.

Announced or Revised	Agency	Title	Component	Report Number(s)	Expected Issue Date (FY)
Completed (partial)	Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services	Review of Medicare Part B Claims for Intravitreal Injections of Eylea and Lucentis	Office of Audit Services	A-09-19-03022; A-09-19-03025; W-00-19-30100; W-00-22-30100	2024