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81003 Urinalysis auto w/o scope

What 81003 is

CMS fee schedule short descriptor: Urinalysis auto w/o scope.

Full CPT long descriptions are licensed by the American Medical Association and are not published on this site; the short descriptor above is the one CMS prints in its own fee schedule file. See About CPT.

Medicare payment for 81003 (CY2026)

This code has no Physician Fee Schedule rate: Statutory exclusion - not payable under the Physician Fee Schedule. It may be paid under a different fee schedule (clinical laboratory, DMEPOS, anesthesia) or not paid at all - check the relevant CMS schedule.

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Medically Unlikely Edit (MUE)

Medicare caps 81003 at 2 units per date of service for practitioner claims (MAI 3 - date of service edit (clinical): units above the MUE may pay with documentation on appeal), rationale: Clinical: Data. Units above the cap are denied unless the edit's adjudication rules allow an appeal with documentation.

Billed with 81003? These codes are bundled into it

81003 is a Column 1 code in 5 active NCCI PTP edits. When one of these Column 2 codes is reported on the same date of service, it is denied as bundled - unless the edit's modifier indicator is 1 and documentation supports a distinct service with an NCCI-associated modifier.

Column 2 codeShort descriptionModifier indicator
81000Urinalysis nonauto w/scope1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
81002Urinalysis nonauto w/o scope1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
81007Urine screen for bacteria0 - no modifier bypassCheck pair
81015Microscopic exam of urine0 - no modifier bypassCheck pair
96523Irrig drug delivery device0 - no modifier bypassCheck pair

81003 is bundled into these codes

81003 appears as a Column 2 code in 25 active edits. Reported with one of these Column 1 codes on the same date of service, 81003 is the code that denies.

Column 1 codeShort descriptionModifier indicator
0007U1Check pair
00100Anes px salivary gland w/bx1Check pair
00102Anes px plstc rpr cleft lip1Check pair
00103Anes rcnstv px eyelid1Check pair
00104Anes electroconvulsive ther1Check pair
00120Anes px ear w/bx nos1Check pair
00124Anes px ear otoscopy1Check pair
00126Anes px ear tympanotomy1Check pair
00140Anes procedures on eye nos1Check pair
00142Anes px on eye lens surgery1Check pair
00144Anes px eye corneal trnspl1Check pair
0082U1Check pair
0116U1Check pair
0328U1Check pair
0520U1Check pair

Data: CMS CY2026 Physician Fee Schedule RVU file (October release, RVU26D) and Medicare NCCI PTP practitioner edits v32.3 (2026 Q4). Verify against the official files before billing or contracting decisions.