Key facts for NCD 150.5
- Benefit category
- Incident to a physician's professional Service, Physicians' Services
- Effective date
- 06/19/2006
- Implemented 06/19/2006
- Transmittal
- Transmittal 48
- Versions published
- 2
- Manual chapter
- 150
- NCD Manual (Pub. 100-03)
TL;DR
NCD 150.5 sets Medicare's national policy for diathermy treatment under the benefit category "Incident to a physician's professional Service, Physicians' Services", effective 06/19/2006 and implemented 06/19/2006. High energy pulsed wave diathermy machines have been found to produce some degree of therapeutic benefit for essentially the same conditions and to the same extent as standard diathermy. Accordingly, where the Medicare Administrative Contractor’s medical… It has been revised 1 time since publication and binds every Medicare Administrative Contractor nationally.
Indications and limitations of coverage
High energy pulsed wave diathermy machines have been found to produce some degree of therapeutic benefit for essentially the same conditions and to the same extent as standard diathermy. Accordingly, where the Medicare Administrative Contractor’s medical staff has determined that the pulsed wave diathermy apparatus used is one which is considered therapeutically effective, the treatments are considered a covered service, but only for those conditions for which standard diathermy is medically indicated and only when rendered by a physician or incident to a physician’s professional services.
(This NCD last reviewed June 2006.)
Text reproduced from the CMS Medicare Coverage Database record for NCD 150.5 version 2. View the original on cms.gov.
Revision history
03/2006 - Deleted coding information. Effective date: 06/19/2006. ( TN 48 ) (CR4278)
09/1989 - Deleted reference to Diapulse or any other brand names. Effective date 10/10/1989. (TN 42)
How this NCD shows up on remittances
A service denied under a National Coverage Determination returns CARC 50 (not deemed medically necessary) with remark N386 (decision based on an NCD); a denial citing a local policy instead carries N115. Because NCDs bind nationally, the appeal path is documentation that the patient meets the indications above, not a contractor-policy argument.
How QuickIntell applies NCD 150.5
QuickAuth checks the ordered service and diagnosis against NCD and LCD criteria before the encounter, QuickCode validates the diagnosis pairing on the claim, and QuickRCM routes CARC 50 denials with the policy text and the covered-code list attached so the appeal starts with evidence.
Frequently asked questions — NCD 150.5
What does NCD 150.5 cover?
High energy pulsed wave diathermy machines have been found to produce some degree of therapeutic benefit for essentially the same conditions and to the same extent as standard diathermy. Accordingly, where the Medicare Administrative Contractor’s medical staff has determined that the pulsed wave diathermy apparatus used is one which is considered therapeutically effective, the treatments are considered a covered… The full indications and limitations are reproduced on this page from the CMS Medicare Coverage Database.
When did NCD 150.5 take effect?
The current version (2) is effective 06/19/2006, implemented 06/19/2006, published in transmittal 48. CMS lists 2 versions of this NCD.
Does a Local Coverage Determination override NCD 150.5?
No. A National Coverage Determination binds all Medicare Administrative Contractors; an LCD can only address services or circumstances the NCD leaves open. Claims denied under this NCD typically return CARC 50 with remark N386 (NCD) rather than N115 (LCD).
Sources
Every figure on this page is taken from the CMS publications below, as released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Projection built 2026-10-02. Verify against the primary file before billing or contracting decisions.
- Medicare Coverage Database NCDs via the CMS Coverage APIVersion API snapshot 2026-09-27 · effective 2026-09-20 · file national-coverage-ncd.jsonSHA-256 a90fadfd264b9ef4…
Disclaimer
This page reproduces the CMS National Coverage Determination text and, for laboratory NCDs, the CMS ICD-10 edit lists, as an operational reference. Coverage decisions depend on the full policy, the claim and the contractor; nothing here is legal, clinical or billing advice. CPT codes are shown as numbers only; CPT descriptors are copyright AMA.