What does the number 2 in the Multiple Procedure column indicate about a procedure?

The number 2 in the Multiple Procedure column signifies that the procedure is subject to the multiple procedure payment reduction. When a procedure is identified with this number, it indicates that when multiple procedures are performed during the same session, there will be a payment reduction applied to the second and subsequent procedures. This is a cost containment measure implemented by payers to avoid excessive reimbursements when multiple procedures are done together since the additional procedures may not require the same level of resources or patient management as the primary procedure.

Conversely, a procedure exempt from payment reduction would typically be indicated by a different coding mechanism. New procedures that receive full payment would also not fall under a number designation like this. Similarly, bundling violations refer to scenarios where separate procedures that should be billed separately are incorrectly grouped together for billing purposes, which is indicated differently in billing guidelines. Thus, the presence of the number 2 is specifically indicative of the payment structure applied to multiple procedures.