A timed code for hands on manual therapy techniques such as mobilization, manual traction, and myofascial release, billed in 15 minute units of one on one time.
The most denial prone code in chiropractic billing, because NCCI bundles it with chiropractic manipulative treatment when both target the same region on the same day. Billed with CMT, it pays only when the manual therapy was a distinct service on a separate region, carrying the 59 or XS modifier and documentation proving the separation. Same region soft tissue work preparing for the adjustment is part of the adjustment.
A patient receives a lumbar and sacral adjustment plus 10 minutes of cervical myofascial work for a documented, separate cervical complaint. 98940 plus 97140 with the XS modifier is correct, and the note names the different regions. The same 97140 applied to the lumbar spine right before the lumbar adjustment is bundled into the CMT, and appending 59 to force payment anyway creates recoupment exposure.
The 97140 and CMT pairing is governed by National Correct Coding Initiative procedure to procedure edits, which treat the two as bundled unless a distinct service on a separate anatomic site is documented and the appropriate modifier is used.
Not payable to chiropractors, as with all non CMT services. For commercial plans it is frequently the single most audited line on chiropractic claims.
Reflexive 59 on every 97140; same region billing with CMT; unit counts beyond documented minutes; notes that never say which region the manual therapy touched.
Cervica's claim scrubber validates modifiers, units, and diagnosis pointers for 97140 before submission, per payer rules handle code substitutions and modifier requirements automatically, and when a payer pushes back anyway the denial worklist reads the adjustment codes and routes the claim to the exact fix.
General information for billing teams, not legal, coding, or payer specific advice. CPT is a registered trademark of the American Medical Association; code descriptions here are paraphrased in our own words and the AMA's CPT publications control. Payer policies vary and control for any individual claim.