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COVID-19 Vaccine Administration Procedure Codes 0164A and 0173A Now Benefits

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Note: Texas Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs) must provide all medically necessary, Medicaid-covered services to eligible clients. Administrative procedures such as prior authorization, precertification, referrals, and claims/encounter data filing may differ from traditional Medicaid (fee-for-service) and from MCO to MCO. Providers should contact the client's specific MCO for details.

Effective for dates of service on or after December 8, 2022, per the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s amended Emergency Use Authorizations, COVID-19 vaccine administration codes 0164A (Moderna) and 0173A (Pfizer-BioNTech) are benefits of Texas Medicaid and the Children with Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN) Services Program for administration of the following:

  • Moderna COVID-19 bivalent booster vaccine to individuals 6 months through 5 years of age
  • Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 bivalent booster vaccine to individuals 6 months through 4 years of age

Vaccine procedure codes 91316 (Moderna) and 91317 (Pfizer-BioNTech) are informational only while providers receive the vaccines free of charge.

Procedure codes 0164A and 0173A are Medicaid benefits for the following provider types and places of service:

Place of Service

Provider Type

Office

Physician Assistant (PA), Nurse Practitioner (NP), Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS), Physician, Pharmacist, Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM), Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), Nephrology (Hemodialysis, Renal Dialysis), Rural Health Clinics (RHCs), Pharmacy

Home

PA, NP, CNS, Physician, Home Health Agency, Comprehensive Care Program (CCP) Provider

Outpatient hospitals

FQHCs, Hospitals, Nephrology (Hemodialysis, Renal Dialysis), Renal Dialysis Facility, RHCs

Other locations

PA, NP, CNS, Physician, FQHCs, CCP Provider, RHCs

Procedure codes 0164A and 0173A are CSHCN Services Program benefits for the following provider types and places of service:

Place of Service

Provider Type

Office

PA, NP, CNS, Physician, Pharmacist, FQHCs, Nephrology (Hemodialysis, Renal Dialysis), RHCs, Pharmacy

Home

PA, NP, CNS, Physician, Home Health Agency, CCP Provider

Outpatient hospitals

FQHCs, Hospitals, Nephrology (Hemodialysis, Renal Dialysis), Renal Dialysis Facility, RHCs

Other locations

PA, NP, CNS, Physician, FQHCs, CCP Provider, RHCs

As of December 8, 2022, procedure code M0201 (COVID-19 vaccine administration inside a patient’s home) can be billed in the home setting with procedure codes 0164A or 0173A for individuals 6 months through 5 years of age and 6 months through 4 years of age, respectively.

Note: Procedure codes 0164A and 0173A will be assigned interim rates until expenditures are approved and permanent rates are adopted by Texas Medicaid. Providers will be notified of the permanent rate in a future article. Services provided before the interim rates are assigned will receive the following explanation of benefits (EOB) 02008 notification: “This procedure code has been approved as a benefit pending the approval of expenditures. Providers will be notified of the effective dates of service in a future notification if expenditures are approved.”

Once expenditures are approved, the Texas Medicaid & Healthcare Partnership (TMHP) will automatically reprocess the affected claims. Providers are not required to appeal the claims unless they are denied for other reasons after the claims reprocessing is complete.

Providers interested in enrolling as COVID-19 vaccinators should visit https://www.dshs.texas.gov/coronavirus/immunize/provider-information.aspx.

For more information, call the TMHP Contact Center at 800-925-9126 or the TMHP-CSHCN Services Program Contact Center at 800-568-2413.