Why don SLPs have time units like the PT/OT codes?
Historically, the physical medicine and rehabilitation procedure codes were assigned time units of 15 minutes while the codes for speech-language pathology were not. Because of the way codes are developed and established, it is difficult to revise descriptors. There are two 15-minute treatment codes available to speech-language pathologists under Medicare – CPT 97532, Development of cognitive skills, each 15 minutes; and 97533, Sensory integrative techniques, each 15 minutes. Note that Medicare assigns 97532 a total value of 0.66 which converts to a national fee of $25.01. CPT 97533 has a total value of 0.70 and a national fee of $26.53. These are in contrast to 92507 which has a total value of 1.67 and a national fee of $63.29.
