Preventive colonoscopies, which are usually scheduled every 10 years starting at age 45, are supposed to be free for patients, according to the Affordable Care Act.
Hospitals and providers are allowed to change to a more expensive billing code if a colonoscopy is considered diagnostic rather than preventive, but the distinction isn’t always clear. Removal of a polyp is sometimes the reason a provider changes the billing code from screening to diagnostic, Kaiser Health News reported May 31.