Noridian Healthcare Solutions, LLC (Noridian), as the Supplemental Medical Review Contractor (SMRC) for the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), is tasked with provider outreach and education for potential incorrect coding of Triesence billed with dates of service January 1, 2026, through March 31, 2026. This notification includes the reasons for the project.

Background

Triesence (triamcinolone acetonide injectable suspension 40 mg/mL) is a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved, preservative-free corticosteroid indicated for specific ophthalmologic conditions, including sympathetic ophthalmia, temporal arteritis, uveitis, and other ocular inflammatory disorders unresponsive to topical corticosteroids. It is administered intravitreally and may also be used during vitrectomy procedures for visualization purposes.

Triesence is billed with Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) code J3300. One billable unit represents one milligram. As a single-dose vial product, providers are required to appropriately report drug wastage using the JW modifier or attest to no wastage through the JZ modifier.

Analysis of CMS claims data identified a potential billing and coding vulnerability regarding Triesence use by non-ophthalmologic specialties for non-ophthalmic indications in settings such as pain management clinics, orthopedic practices, and rehabilitation facilities.

Code Description

CMS maintains National Drug Code (NDC) and Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) crosswalks to help the public understand which drug products (identified by NDCs) are assigned to which HCPCS billing codes. Please see information below from the crosswalk for billing HCPCS code J3300.

Provider Resource:

For purposes of this project, the appropriate MAC point of contact can be found in the link below:

• 01-176 – MAC Point of Contact

References

Social Security Act (SSA), Title XVIII

• §1869(b)(1)(G), Reopening and Revision of Determinations

42 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)

• §405.980(a)(b) and (c), Reopening of Initial Determinations, Redeterminations, Reconsiderations, Decisions, and Reviews

Internet-Only Manual (IOM), Medicare Benefit Policy Manual (MBPM), Publication (Pub.) 100-02

• Chapter 15, §50, Drugs and Biologicals

IOM, Medicare Claims Processing Manual (MCPM), Pub. 100-04

• Chapter 34, §10.6, Timeframes to Reopen Claim Determinations

Other

• Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) crosswalks. These crosswalks can be accessed at: https://www.cms.gov/files/zip/january-2026-ndc-hcpcs-crosswalk.zip .
  • Please refer to the January 2026 ASP NDC-HCPCS Crosswalk files
• National Drug Code (NDC). Retrieved from https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-approvals-and-databases/national-drug-code-directory

Last Updated Sep 29, 2026