Anesthetic drugs such as Bupivacaine (Marcaine), Bupivacaine (Sensoricaine), Chloroprocaine (Nesacaine), Lidocaine (Xylocaine), Mepivacaine (Carbocaine), etc., when administered for chronic pain control are not covered by Medicare.
The CMS Medicare Claims Processing Manual (PDF, 902 KB) (Pub. 100-04), Ch. 12, Sec. 50 specifies that carriers may not allow separate payment for the anesthesia service performed by the physician who also furnishes the medical or surgical service. In that case, payment for the anesthesia service is made through the payment for the medical or surgical service.
- For example, carriers may not allow separate payment for the surgeon's performance of a local or surgical anesthesia if the surgeon also performs the surgical procedure