US company and founding teamHIPAA-compliantPaid only on what we collect
TitrateREVENUE

Coding

Anesthesia billing glossary

Plain-English definitions of the terms you'll see on billing reports, claims and payer letters.

A/R (accounts receivable)
Money owed to you for claims that haven't been paid yet.
Base units
The fixed value for each anesthesia code that reflects how complex the procedure is.
Clean claim
A claim with no errors that a payer can process on the first try.
Concurrency
How many cases an anesthesiologist is medically directing at the same time.
Conversion factor
The dollar amount a payer pays per unit. See conversion factor.
Credentialing
The process of getting a provider approved by a payer.
Days in A/R
How long, on average, it takes to get paid. See days in A/R.
Denial
A claim the payer refused to pay. See common denials.
EOB / ERA
The payer's explanation of what it paid and why, on paper or electronically.
MAC
Monitored anesthesia care. Also short for Medicare Administrative Contractor, the company that processes Medicare claims in your region.
Medical direction
An anesthesiologist directing up to four CRNA cases at once while meeting seven requirements.
Net collection rate
The share of what you could collect that you actually collected.
NPI
National Provider Identifier, the ID number for each provider and group.
Opt-out state
A state where the governor has removed Medicare's physician supervision requirement for CRNAs.
Physical status (P1 to P6)
A rating of the patient's health. Some payers pay extra units for P3 and above.
QK, QX, QY, QZ, AA, AD
Modifiers that show how a case was staffed. See CRNA modifiers.
QS, G8, G9
Modifiers used with monitored anesthesia care.
Qualifying circumstances
Add-on codes for extreme age, hypothermia, hypotension or emergencies.
Reassignment
When a provider lets a group bill and be paid for their services.
Time units
Anesthesia time, usually counted in 15-minute units.

This article is general information, not billing, legal or tax advice. Payer rules change; always check current guidance.

Back to resources

Monthly update

Anesthesia payer changes, once a month

A short email with payer policy changes, coding updates and one practical tip for anesthesia groups. Unsubscribe any time.

See what your group could be collecting

Get a free billing review