Medical Billing 101 – Free Denial Code, CPT & RCM Guides

CPT 90839 and 90840 Denied by Medicaid: What It Means and How to Fix It

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Author: Manikandan (Mani) | Senior Medical Billing Specialist, 10+ Years in RCM Published: August 2026 | Last Updated: August 2026 Read time: 8 minutes What Does “Coverage/Program Guidelines Were Not Met” Mean? When Connecticut Medicaid denies CPT 90839 and 90840 with the reason “coverage/program guidelines were not met”, it is not saying the crisis session … Read more

CPT Code for Juvederm Breast Injections (11950-11954): What Billers Need to Know

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A coder posted this question in a billing community forum: what CPT code is everyone using for injections of Juvederm Ultra XC to bilateral breasts? They had done their homework and landed on the 11950 to 11954 range based on the volume injected. Their instinct on the code family was correct. But the real answer … Read more

CO-96 Denial Code: What Non-Covered Charges Mean in Cosmetic Billing

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CO-96 is one of the denial codes that shows up across every specialty, every payer, and every billing department regardless of how experienced the team is. It means the payer determined the service is not covered under the patient’s plan. In cosmetic and aesthetic billing, CO-96 is not a surprise. It is the expected outcome. … Read more

GY Modifier on Medicare Claims: Cosmetic Procedures Billing Guide

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Medicare billers working in cosmetic, aesthetic, and plastic surgery practices encounter the GY modifier regularly. It is one of the most specific and unambiguous modifiers in the Medicare billing system, and using it correctly protects the practice, clarifies patient financial liability, and keeps the denial workflow moving without unnecessary manual follow-up. This guide covers when … Read more

Clearinghouse NCCI scrubbing setup: Guide to enabling pre-submission edit checking by PM platform

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Every CO 97 denial that gets caught before submission costs nothing. The same denial caught after submission costs an average rework fee, plus the time to research the NCCI pair, fix the modifier, and resubmit. The fix for that gap already exists in most practice management systems and clearinghouses; it’s just often sitting turned off, … Read more