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Ultrasound for Pregnancy (CPB 0199, reviewed 2026-03-24)

Aetna·OB-GYN, Radiology·Radiology
Effective date
Mar 24, 2026
We identified it
Aug 14, 2026
Days to comply

Summary

Aetna's updated CPB 0199 clarifies medical necessity criteria for pregnancy ultrasounds, establishing strict limitations on detailed fetal anatomic examinations. Key change: only up to 1 detailed fetal anatomic ultrasound per trimester is covered; more than 1 per trimester is non-covered. Additionally, 3D/4D ultrasounds, sex determination ultrasounds, and routine screening ultrasounds are explicitly non-covered. Billing teams must enforce these quantity limits and medical necessity requirements to avoid claim denials.

Action Required

Action needed
By March 24, 2026: Billing team must implement the following controls in billing software and claim submission processes: (1) Flag and deny claims for more than 1 detailed fetal anatomic ultrasound (CPT 76811, 76812) per trimester per pregnancy as non-covered; (2) Require documentation of medical necessity before processing CPT 76811/76812 claims—reject claims lacking qualifying diagnoses from the ICD-10 list (O35.*, O36.*, E66.01/09, A92.5, B06.*, B50-B54, O09.5*, O09.8*, O24.*, O28.5, O30.*, O31.*, G93.5, or documented special conditions like IVF, Zika exposure, syphilis, obesity BMI≥30); (3) Deny all claims for CPT 76811/76812 billed with non-medical-necessity indications (routine screening, sex determination, septate/arcuate uterus, family history of CHD, maternal myasthenia gravis, low PAPP-A, smoking/cannabis use, bupropion/levetiracetam use, spironolactone exposure, or other experimental indications listed); (4) Auto-deny 3D/4D ultrasound requests; (5) Educate providers that transvaginal ultrasound (TV-US) includes pelvic ultrasound—do not bill both separately. Update encounter forms to capture trimester and specific medical indication. Providers must document one of the covered indications (fetal anomaly suspected, aneuploidy markers, IVF pregnancy, maternal obesity, known infections, uterine anomalies, prior pregnancy with anomaly, etc.). Failure to enforce these limits will result in claim denials and potential recovery actions.

Affected Billing Codes

76811
76812
76813
76814