Stage 01 · Clean Coding
Two claims, same surgery, very different money.
95940 and 95941 are not interchangeable, and G0453 is its own animal. One-on-one attendance in the room, remote oversight across cases, the base study underneath it all: get the combination wrong and the case underpays or bounces on the first pass.
Stage 02 · The Record
A clean IONM claim is assembled, not submitted.
The operative note, the technologist’s log, the oversight physician’s report, the baselines and any alert events all have to agree with each other before the claim goes out. When they don’t, we go get the missing piece; we don’t send it and hope.
Stage 03 · Open Negotiation
When the payer underpays, a clock starts.
A fixed negotiation window opens: a formal notice, a supported number, and an actual negotiation, not a phone call and a shrug. Most claims should settle here, and the ones that do settle faster and cheaper than arbitration.
Stage 04 · Federal IDR
The part most billers quietly skip.
If it doesn’t settle, initiation is a narrow window measured in business days; this is the deadline most practices miss. Both sides then submit one number with supporting evidence, and the arbiter picks one offer outright. The case is won or lost in that package.