SPOTLIGHT: Are the New PIN Codes a Starting Point?

During the 2024 Patient-Centered Oncology Care conference, Samyukta Mullangi, MD, MBA, medical oncology director at Thyme Care and a medical oncologist at Tennessee Oncology, took part in the panel discussion about the new Principal Illness Navigation (PIN) codes. In an interview with The American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC) ahead of the conference, Mullangi suggested that codes to bill for patient navigation could be a game changer and have a big impact on the Enhancing Oncology Model. However, it’s also possible that restrictions could limit how much change they will bring.

AJMC: Could you discuss the main points of your panel, “The New Math: What Does PIN Mean to the Enhancing Oncology Model?”

Mullangi: This is a conversation with several community practice leaders talking about the new PIN codes that CMS introduced in January this year. Those codes came with a big wave of excitement because, formerly, there wasn’t really a formal reimbursement structure for patient-oriented navigation specifically. Even though there were…echoes of this within existing programs, like the [chronic care management] and [principal care management programs], I think there is a unique opportunity here.

What we’re going to be talking about is whether these codes are going to create that wave of change or whether they are a starting point, but potentially not enough to change practice. I think that’s a very thorny and interesting conversation to get into, so I’m really looking forward [to it].