L8696: Antenna (external) for use with implantable diaphragmatic/phrenic nerve stimulation device, replacement, each
L8696 is a HCPCS Level II code for antenna (external) for use with implantable diaphragmatic/phrenic nerve stimulation device, replacement, each. It belongs to the Orthotic and Prosthetic Procedures and Devices section. It was terminated on September 30, 2026 and is not valid on new claims.
This code has been terminated
CMS terminated L8696 on September 30, 2026. It stays in the file as history: a claim you are auditing from before that date may legitimately carry it, but it must not appear on a new claim. The adjacent codes below are the usual place to look for its replacement.
Medicare coverage: Special coverage instructions apply
There are published conditions attached to this code. Check the applicable coverage policy before billing it: the code being valid is not the same as the service being covered.
From the coverage field of the CMS Alpha-Numeric HCPCS File, release 2026Q4-Oct. This states Medicare’s position on the code, not on your particular claim.
Medically Unlikely Edits: units per day
The most units of L8696 Medicare will pay on one date of service. Bill more on a single line and it is denied. The limit is not the same in every setting, so the row that matters is the one matching the claim you are building.
- practitioner
- 1 unit MAI 3: Date of Service Edit: Clinical · Nature of Equipment
- outpatient
- 1 unit MAI 3: Date of Service Edit: Clinical · Nature of Equipment
The adjudication indicator decides whether exceeding the limit is worth appealing at all: MAI 1 is a line edit you can support with documentation, MAI 3 is a date-of-service edit that is also appealable, and MAI 2 is absolute, no documentation overrides it. CMS MUE 2026Q4.
The CMS record for L8696
- Long descriptor
- Antenna (external) for use with implantable diaphragmatic/phrenic nerve stimulation device, replacement, each
- Short descriptor
- Ext antenna phren nerve stim
- Added
- January 1, 2015
- Terminated
- September 30, 2026
- BETOS
- D1F
- Pricing indicator
- 38: DMEPOS
The official wording. This is what the code means.
CMS's 28-character form, which is what shows up on a remittance advice.
When CMS introduced the code.
When CMS retired it.
Berenson-Eggers Type of Service: CMS's own analytic grouping.
Orthotics, prosthetics, prosthetic devices and vision services. Price subject to floors and ceilings.
Codes adjacent to L8696
HCPCS has no hierarchy: related items simply sit next to each other in the numbering. If L8696 is not quite right, the correct code is very often within a few positions of it.
- L8688Implantable neurostimulator pulse generator, dual array, non-rechargeable, includes extension
- L8689External recharging system for battery (internal) for use with implantable neurostimulator, replacement only
- L8690Auditory osseointegrated device, includes all internal and external components
- L8691Auditory osseointegrated device, external sound processor, excludes transducer/actuator, replacement only, each
- L8692Auditory osseointegrated device, external sound processor, used without osseointegration, body worn, includes headband or other means of external attachment
- L8693Auditory osseointegrated device abutment, any length, replacement only
- L8694Auditory osseointegrated device, transducer/actuator, replacement only, each
- L8695External recharging system for battery (external) for use with implantable neurostimulator, replacement only
- L8697External accessory for use with implantable phrenic nerve stimulation device, replacement, each
- L8698Miscellaneous component, supply or accessory for use with total artificial heart system
- L8699Prosthetic implant, not otherwise specified
- L8701Powered upper extremity range of motion assist device, elbow, wrist, hand with single or double upright(s), includes microprocessor, sensors, all components and accessories, custom fabricated
- L8702Powered upper extremity range of motion assist device, elbow, wrist, hand, finger, single or double upright(s), includes microprocessor, sensors, all components and accessories, custom fabricated
- L8720External lower extremity sensory prosthetic device, cutaneous stimulation of mechanoreceptors proximal to the ankle, per leg
- L8721Receptor sole for use with l8720, replacement, each
- L9900Orthotic and prosthetic supply, accessory, and/or service component of another hcpcs "l" code