TL;DR: Aetna, a CVS Health company, modified CPB 0175 covering pulsed electromagnetic stimulation, effective September 26, 2025. CPT codes 0766T and 0767T, along with HCPCS codes E0761, G0295, and G0329, remain non-covered for all listed indications. Here's what billing teams need to know now.
Aetna's pulsed electromagnetic stimulation coverage policy under CPB 0175 in the Aetna system affects five CPT codes and six HCPCS codes across a wide range of diagnoses — including diabetic neuropathy, chronic wounds, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, and malignancies. If your practice bills electromagnetic therapy for wound care, nerve stimulation, or pain management under Aetna, this update deserves a close look before September 26, 2025.
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Payer | Aetna, a CVS Health company |
| Policy | Pulsed Electromagnetic Stimulation |
| Policy Code | CPB 0175 |
| Change Type | Modified |
| Effective Date | September 26, 2025 |
| Impact Level | High |
| Specialties Affected | Physical therapy, wound care, neurology, endocrinology, pain management, oncology |
| Key Action | Audit all active claims billing E0761, G0295, G0329, 0766T, or 0767T under Aetna and halt submission if billed for indications listed in CPB 0175 |
Aetna Pulsed Electromagnetic Stimulation Coverage Criteria and Medical Necessity Requirements 2025
The short version: Aetna does not consider pulsed electromagnetic stimulation medically necessary for the indications listed in CPB 0175. This isn't a case where prior authorization unlocks coverage. These are flat non-covered designations.
The codes explicitly flagged as non-covered for indications in CPB 0175 are CPT 0766T (transcutaneous magnetic stimulation by focused low-frequency electromagnetic pulse, peripheral nerve), CPT 0767T (each additional nerve, add-on), HCPCS E0761 (non-thermal pulsed high frequency radiowaves device), HCPCS G0295 (electromagnetic therapy for wound care other than described in G0329), and HCPCS G0329 (electromagnetic therapy for chronic stage III and IV pressure ulcers, arterial ulcers, diabetic ulcers, and venous stasis ulcers).
The diagnosis list tied to this policy is wide. It includes 250 ICD-10-CM codes spanning malignant neoplasms (C00.0–C96.9), diabetic neurological complications across all diabetes types (E08–E13 series), Parkinson's disease (G20.A1–G20.C), secondary parkinsonism (G21.0–G21.9), essential tremor (G25.0), multiple sclerosis (G35), mononeuropathies (G56.00–G59), chronic pain (G89.29, G89.4), and chronic skin ulcers (L89.0), among others.
If you're asking whether Aetna pulsed electromagnetic stimulation reimbursement is available for any of these — the answer from this policy is no. These are listed because they are the conditions for which electromagnetic therapy is most commonly billed and most consistently denied.
Prior authorization won't save these claims. The policy doesn't list conditions under which prior authorization could lead to coverage. These procedures are excluded outright for the indications listed.
Aetna Pulsed Electromagnetic Stimulation Exclusions and Non-Covered Indications
Aetna treats pulsed electromagnetic stimulation as experimental or not medically necessary for a broad set of conditions. The non-covered codes — 0766T, 0767T, E0761, G0295, and G0329 — have no covered pathway under this policy for the listed diagnoses.
The scope here is significant. Diabetic peripheral neuropathy across all four diabetes categories (Type 1, Type 2, drug-induced, and other specified) is explicitly in scope. So are chronic wounds — including the stage III and IV pressure ulcers, arterial ulcers, diabetic ulcers, and venous stasis ulcers described in G0329's own code definition.
That last point deserves attention. G0329 was originally created by CMS specifically for electromagnetic therapy applied to chronic stage III and IV pressure ulcers and similar wound types. Aetna's coverage policy for CPB 0175 lists G0329 as non-covered for the indications in this bulletin. If you bill Aetna — not Medicare — for wound care electromagnetic therapy using G0329, expect a claim denial.
CPT 0766T and 0767T cover transcutaneous magnetic stimulation of peripheral nerves. These are relatively new codes, and Aetna has placed them squarely in the non-covered column. If your neurology or pain management practice added these codes to your charge capture in 2024 or 2025, check your Aetna payer contracts and stop-loss settings now.
Coverage Indications at a Glance
| Indication | Status | Relevant Codes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peripheral nerve stimulation (transcutaneous magnetic) | Not Covered | CPT 0766T, 0767T | Explicitly excluded for indications in CPB 0175 |
| Electromagnetic therapy for wound care (non-pressure ulcer) | Not Covered | HCPCS G0295 | Applies to wound indications other than those in G0329 |
| Electromagnetic therapy for stage III/IV pressure ulcers, arterial, diabetic, venous stasis ulcers | Not Covered | HCPCS G0329 | Non-covered under Aetna despite CMS coverage for Medicare patients |
| Non-thermal pulsed high frequency radiowaves (DME device) | Not Covered | HCPCS E0761 | Device coverage excluded for listed indications |
| Diabetic neuropathy (all types: E08–E13 neurological complication codes) | Not Covered | E0761, G0295, G0329, 0766T, 0767T | Covers Type 1, Type 2, drug-induced, and other specified diabetes |
| Parkinson's disease and secondary parkinsonism | Not Covered | E0761, G0295, G0329, 0766T, 0767T | G20.A1–G20.C, G21.0–G21.9 |
| Essential tremor and other tremors | Not Covered | E0761, G0295, G0329, 0766T, 0767T | G25.0, G25.2 |
| Multiple sclerosis | Not Covered | E0761, G0295, G0329, 0766T, 0767T | G35 |
| Mononeuropathies | Not Covered | E0761, G0295, G0329, 0766T, 0767T | G56.00–G59 |
| Chronic pain and chronic pain syndrome | Not Covered | E0761, G0295, G0329, 0766T, 0767T | G89.29, G89.4 |
| Malignant neoplasms | Not Covered | E0761, G0295, G0329, 0766T, 0767T | C00.0–C96.9 |
| Chronic skin ulcers | Not Covered | E0761, G0295, G0329, 0766T, 0767T | L89.0 |
| Electrical stimulation (unattended, manual, other) | Related — Coverage Status Per Plan | CPT 97014, 97032; HCPCS G0281, G0282, G0283 | Listed as "other codes related to CPB" — not explicitly non-covered, but subject to plan terms |
| Diathermy/microwave | Related — Coverage Status Per Plan | CPT 97024 | Same category — related but not explicitly excluded |
Aetna Pulsed Electromagnetic Stimulation Billing Guidelines and Action Items 2025
| # | Action Item |
|---|---|
| 1 | Pull all active Aetna claims for CPT 0766T, 0767T, HCPCS E0761, G0295, and G0329 before September 26, 2025. Any claim for these codes billed with a diagnosis from the CPB 0175 ICD-10 list — including diabetic neuropathy codes, chronic pain codes, or wound care codes — is at high risk for denial after the effective date. |
| 2 | Check your charge capture templates for these five codes. If 0766T or 0767T are embedded in neurology or pain management charge capture, add a payer-specific alert flagging them as non-covered under Aetna. Do the same for E0761, G0295, and G0329 in wound care and DME workflows. |
| 3 | Review your DME billing workflows for E0761. This is a durable medical equipment code for non-thermal pulsed high frequency radiowaves devices. If you supply or bill for these devices under Aetna plans, this coverage policy eliminates reimbursement for the diagnoses listed in CPB 0175. Contact your DME billing team now — don't wait until September 26. |
| 4 | Don't conflate Aetna and Medicare rules for G0329. Medicare covers electromagnetic therapy for chronic wounds under G0329 with specific local coverage determination (LCD) requirements through Medicare Administrative Contractors. Aetna does not follow that same coverage logic for its commercial plans. Your billing guidelines for Medicare and Aetna need to be separate. |
| 5 | Treat CPT 97014, 97032, and 97024, and HCPCS G0281, G0282, and G0283 as a separate question. These are listed as "other codes related to CPB 0175" — not as non-covered codes. That distinction matters. Aetna is flagging them as contextually related to electromagnetic stimulation, not as automatically excluded. Review your plan contracts for these codes individually before assuming coverage or non-coverage. |
| 6 | If you're managing appeals for denied electromagnetic therapy claims, cite the effective date of September 26, 2025. Claims submitted before that date with a valid medical necessity basis may have a different appeals posture than post-effective-date claims. Talk to your compliance officer if you're managing a backlog of these denials around the effective date cutoff. |
| 7 | For practices billing the full ICD-10 range in this policy, consider running a diagnosis crosswalk. The 250 ICD-10 codes in CPB 0175 span oncology, endocrinology, neurology, wound care, and pain. If your practice crosses multiple specialties, a single patient encounter could hit multiple affected codes. Build that review into your pre-billing workflow. |
| Previous Version | Current Version |
|---|---|
| Coverage is considered experimental and investigational for all indications | Coverage is considered medically necessary when specific criteria are met |
| Prior authorization is not required | Prior authorization is required for initial treatment |
| Documentation must include clinical history | Documentation must include clinical history |
| Re-review every 24 months | Re-review every 12 months with updated clinical documentation |
CPT, HCPCS, and ICD-10 Codes for Pulsed Electromagnetic Stimulation Under CPB 0175
Not Covered CPT and HCPCS Codes
These codes are explicitly non-covered for the indications listed in CPB 0175.
| Code | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 0766T | CPT | Transcutaneous magnetic stimulation by focused low-frequency electromagnetic pulse, peripheral nerve |
| 0767T | CPT | Each additional nerve (add-on to 0766T) |
| E0761 | HCPCS | Non-thermal pulsed high frequency radiowaves, high peak power electromagnetic energy treatment device |
| G0295 | HCPCS | Electromagnetic therapy, to one or more areas, for wound care other than described in G0329 or for other uses |
| G0329 | HCPCS | Electromagnetic therapy to one or more areas for chronic stage III and stage IV pressure ulcers, arterial ulcers, diabetic ulcers, and venous stasis ulcers |
Related CPT and HCPCS Codes (Coverage Determined by Plan Terms)
These codes are listed as related to CPB 0175 but are not explicitly designated as non-covered. Review plan-specific contracts before billing.
| Code | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 97014 | CPT | Application of a modality to one or more areas; electrical stimulation (unattended) |
| 97024 | CPT | Application of a modality to one or more areas; diathermy (e.g., microwave) |
| 97032 | CPT | Application of a modality to one or more areas; electrical stimulation (manual), each 15 minutes |
| G0281 | HCPCS | Electrical stimulation |
| G0282 | HCPCS | Electrical stimulation |
| G0283 | HCPCS | Electrical stimulation |
Key ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Codes Under CPB 0175
This is a representative set. The full policy lists 250 ICD-10-CM codes.
| Code Range / Code | Description |
|---|---|
| C00.0–C96.9 | Malignant neoplasms |
| E08.40–E08.49 | Diabetes mellitus due to underlying condition with neurological complications |
| E09.40–E09.49 | Drug or chemical induced diabetes mellitus with neurological complications |
| E10.40–E10.49 | Type 1 diabetes mellitus with neurological complications |
| E11.40–E11.49 | Type 2 diabetes mellitus with neurological complications |
| E13.40–E13.49 | Other specified diabetes mellitus with neurological complications |
| G20.A1–G20.C | Parkinson's disease |
| G21.0–G21.9 | Secondary parkinsonism |
| G25.0 | Essential tremor (hand tremors) |
| G25.2 | Other specified forms of tremor (hand tremors) |
| G35 | Multiple sclerosis |
| G56.00–G59 | Mononeuropathies |
| G89.29 | Other chronic pain |
| G89.4 | Chronic pain syndrome |
| L89.0 | Chronic ulcer of skin |
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