A pilot project in the Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health regions is being done to assess the needs of doctors’ offices wanting to provide COVID-19 immunizations to children. After this pilot, additional family doctors may choose to participate in providing COVID-19 immunizations to children in their clinics.
To support physicians in providing these vaccinations, BC Family Doctors has advocated for a new pediatric COVID-19 immunization fee code that allows family doctors to bill for both the immunization plus an office visit (00100 or 12100) for patients under 19 years of age. This aligns with the existing fee codes and billing rules for other publicly funded immunizations for children.
This new temporary fee item is effective for dates of service on or after July 1, 2022. The fee will be billable in Teleplan on August 1, 2022.
10047 Pediatric COVID-19 immunization …………………………………………………… 5.45
Notes:
i) Payable for COVID-19 immunization (ICD-9 code C19 must be entered on claim).
ii) Payable in full with an office visit.
iii) Not payable on the same day with B00010, B00034.
Frequently asked questions
How should I bill for providing a child with a pediatric immunization for COVID-19?
Similar to other publicly funded immunizations, both the visit fee (00100 or 12100) and the pediatric COVID-19 immunization fee (10047) are billable for patients aged 18 and under. The visit fee is billable even if there is not an unrelated reason for the visit. ICD-9 code C19 must be entered on the claim.
This is different than billing for providing immunizations in patients 19 years of age and older, as only the COVID-19 immunization fee is billable unless the visit is for an unrelated reason (see 10042).
Why is there a different fee code for COVID-19 immunizations in children?
The Pediatric COVID-19 immunization fee (10047) was created to align with the existing fee codes and billing rules for other publicly funded immunizations for patients less than 19 years of age.
All publicly funded immunizations provided to patients less than 19 years of age are billable in addition to an office visit. (See this FAQ and the Simplified Fee Guide for more information.)
For more frequently asked questions about billing for immunizations during the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit the Billing Question Library.