January 2022

Radiology procedure code *71271 will require prior authorization for most Blue Cross, BCN members

AIM Specialty Health^® currently requires prior authorization for radiology procedure code *71271 for most Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan commercial members. Effective with dates of service on or after March 1, 2022, AIM will also require prior authorization for radiology procedure code *71271 for the following health plans:

Medicare Plus Blue℠
Blue Care Network commercial
BCN Advantage℠

Prior authorization will be required to ensure that claims are eligible for reimbursement.

Submitting prior authorization requests

Submit prior authorization requests to AIM. For information on how to submit requests and for other resources, visit these webpages on our ereferrals.bcbsm.com website:

We’ve updated the list of procedures that require prior authorization by AIM to reflect this requirement.

Additional information

As a reminder, AIM manages authorizations for various Blue Cross commercial, Medicare Plus Blue, BCN commercial and BCN Advantage members for these services:

Select cardiology and radiology services
Medical oncology and supportive care drugs
High-tech radiology
In-lab sleep management
Radiation oncology

AIM Specialty Health is an independent company that contracts with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network to manage authorizations for select services.

No portion of this publication may be copied without the express written permission of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, except that BCBSM participating health care providers may make copies for their personal use. In no event may any portion of this publication be copied or reprinted and used for commercial purposes by any party other than BCBSM.

*CPT codes, descriptions and two-digit numeric modifiers only are copyright 2021 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.