HCPCS code V2742 – Deleted rose tint for glass lenses

Found our content helpful?

Key takeaways

HCPCS Code V2742 (tint, glass, rose 1 or 2, per lens) was deleted for dates of service on or after January 1, 2004.

Bill a solid or gradient tint of any color and any lens material with V2745, one unit per lens.

Bill a photochromic lens with V2744. V2760 is a scratch-resistant coating and never describes a tint.

Medicare covers a tint only on covered lenses, with medical need documented by the treating practitioner and the KX modifier added.

A claim line carrying V2742 today denies as an invalid code, so remove it from charge masters and superbill templates.

HCPCS code V2742: Definition and deletion status

HCPCS Code V2742 described one narrow item: a glass spectacle lens with a rose 1 or rose 2 tint, reported per lens. It sat in the V2700–V2799 range of the CMS HCPCS Level II code set, which covers lens additions and other vision supplies.

CMS terminated the code on December 31, 2003, and it has not been reinstated. Claims with a date of service on or after January 1, 2004 must report the tint with a current code. Today, a solid or gradient tint of any color, on any lens material, is billed with V2745, one unit per lens. A photochromic lens is billed with V2744 instead.

What V2742 used to cover and why it was retired

Before 2004, tint billing was split four ways, by lens material and by tint color. V2742 was the code for a rose tint on a glass lens. Its three siblings covered plastic lenses and tint colors other than rose.

From January 1, 2004, CMS folded all four codes into V2745. The new code covers any tint color, solid or gradient, on any lens material. Material and color no longer change the code, so the coder only has to decide whether the tint is photochromic, as the diagram below shows.

Why V2742 still appears on claims

A code deleted more than two decades ago survives in files that are rarely reopened. Typical sources are an inherited charge master, an old superbill template, or an optical price list copied from one system to the next.

When the line reaches the payer, it denies because the code was invalid on the date of service, usually with claim adjustment reason code 181. The fix is to replace V2742 with V2745, or with V2744 for a photochromic lens, and send a corrected claim.

What to bill instead: V2745 and V2744

Choose the tint code by how the lens behaves in light. A fixed tint of any color, solid or gradient, is V2745. A lens that darkens automatically in UV light is V2744.

V2760 is sometimes mistaken for a photochromic code. It describes a scratch-resistant coating only, and the Medicare refractive lens policy treats that coating as noncovered.

V2745 billing guidelines and rules

V2745 is an addition to a lens, so it always travels with a base lens code on the same claim. These rules apply to every tint line.

• Per lens: report one unit of V2745 for each tinted lens.
• Bilateral pairs: since March 1, 2019, Medicare wants each lens on its own line with the RT (right) or LT (left) modifier and one unit. Commercial plans set their own format.
• Base lens on the same claim: list the spectacle lens code for each lens. For example, V2100 covers a single vision sphere up to plus or minus 4.00.
• Medical need: add the KX modifier on a Medicare claim when the treating practitioner has documented why the tint is needed.
• Expected denial: use GA when a signed Advance Beneficiary Notice is on file, or GZ when it is not.
• Frame: bill V2020 (frames, purchases) once per frame, never per lens.

A bilateral single vision pair with a medically necessary fixed tint looks like this on a Medicare claim.

Swap V2745 for V2744 on lines 3 and 4 if the patient chose photochromic lenses. Where the tint lacks documented medical need, drop KX and add GA or GZ instead.

Medicare coverage and medical necessity for tinted lenses

Medicare has no routine vision benefit. It covers spectacle lenses as prosthetic devices after cataract surgery, under the CMS Benefit Policy Manual, Chapter 15. A patient with an intraocular lens gets one pair of glasses or contact lenses after each cataract surgery.

A tint on those lenses is covered only when it is medically necessary and the treating practitioner documents why. Tinted sunglasses prescribed on top of an aphakic patient’s regular lenses are denied, per the DME MAC Refractive Lenses policy article (A52499).

For Medicare, the lens diagnosis comes first, because a tint cannot be covered on a lens that is not. Commercial vision plans and state Medicaid programs set their own tint benefits. Check the patient’s tint benefit before the order goes to the lab, not after dispensing.

Documentation requirements for V2745 and V2744

A tint line survives review when the chart explains why the patient needs it. Keep these records for every tinted lens you bill.

1. Prescription: the order names the tint type (solid, gradient or photochromic) and the color or density where specified.
2. Clinical indication: the treating practitioner’s note records the symptom, the diagnosis and why a tint addresses it.
3. Diagnosis linkage: each tint line points to the supporting diagnosis in item 24E of the CMS-1500.
4. Coverage basis for Medicare: the aphakia or pseudophakia diagnosis and the date of the cataract surgery.
5. Advance Beneficiary Notice: a signed copy on file whenever the line carries GA.
6. Dispensing record: the lab order or delivery note showing the tint was supplied.

Practice management software like Pabau can capture the tint prescription and the clinical indication on digital forms at the visit, before the claim is built.

Related HCPCS codes

The tint line sits alongside the base lens and frame codes below. For the tint and coating additions themselves, see the comparison table above.

Common claim denial reasons and how to avoid them

Tint denials follow a short list of causes. The denial reason codes on the remittance tell you which one you are dealing with.

Most of these denials can be caught at charge entry. The code check and the RT/LT split take seconds, while an appeal takes weeks.

How to bill a tinted lens correctly: Step by step

1. Confirm the tint type on the prescription: fixed or photochromic.
2. Pick the code: V2745 for a fixed tint, V2744 for a photochromic lens. Never use V2740 to V2743.
3. Verify the patient’s lens and tint benefit before the order goes to the lab.
4. Document the medical need in the note and link the supporting diagnosis.
5. Build the claim with the base lens and the tint per lens, split into RT and LT lines, and the frame once.
6. Add KX when medical need is documented, or GA or GZ when a Medicare denial is expected.
7. Check the remittance, and correct any tint line that denies before the filing deadline.

How Pabau keeps tint codes current on optical claims

In many optometry practices, the tint prescription, the chart note and the fee schedule each sit in a different system. That split is how a deleted code like V2742 lasts for years. The price list gets copied forward and is never checked against the note.

Pabau keeps the clinical record and the billing record in one system. The prescription, the note that documents photophobia and the tint line on the invoice sit on the same patient timeline. Its claims software for optometrists submits from that record, so the biller codes the tint while reading why it was prescribed.

The outcome is fewer invalid-code denials, RT and LT lines split correctly from the start, and audit requests answered from one place.

Keep every tint line on a current code

Pabau keeps prescriptions, chart notes and claims on one patient timeline. Optical billers code each tint as V2745 or V2744 with the documentation in front of them.

Book a demo

Conclusion

The answer on V2742 is short. The code is gone, and V2745 took its place in 2004. The harder work is making sure the old code has left every template your practice bills from.

Once it has, a tint claim pays on the same three checks. Confirm fixed or photochromic, split the lenses by side, and document why the patient needs the tint.

Pabau keeps the prescription, the note and the claim together so those checks happen before submission. To see how it handles optical billing end to end, book a demo.

Continue your research

Need a refresher on how payers adjudicate a vision claim? Medical billing fundamentals explains adjudication and where appeals fit in the revenue cycle.

Want audit-ready documentation for tint and coating add-ons? Medical billing compliance covers the records that protect against payer recoupment.

Looking for a clearinghouse that catches deleted HCPCS codes before submission? Medical claims clearinghouses explained shows how claims are scrubbed and routed to payers.

Frequently asked questions