What are medical billing modifiers?

Medical billing modifiers are used to describe a service or supply in the medical field. They are used to explain the services rendered in detail considering the work of more than one specialist or procedures that used specific technology, such as an MRI.

Modifiers are important as they are often used by insurance companies for record keeping before issuing a payment. They provide information about the treatment that specifies details about surgery, charges for assisting in the process and any specialist who contributed to the treatment. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid publishes a modifier list that it used as the industry standard.