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87188 Sc std macrobroth dil meth

What 87188 is

CMS fee schedule short descriptor: Sc std macrobroth dil meth.

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 87188 (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 87188 at 6 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 87188? These codes are bundled into it

87188 is a Column 1 code in 3 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
87190Sc std myobacteria prop meth1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
88387Macroscopic xm dsj&prep tiss1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
96523Irrig drug delivery device0 - no modifier bypassCheck pair

87188 is bundled into these codes

87188 appears as a Column 2 code in 16 active edits. Reported with one of these Column 1 codes on the same date of service, 87188 is the code that denies.

Column 1 codeShort descriptionModifier indicator
0086U1Check pair
0140U1Check pair
0141U1Check pair
0142U1Check pair
0311U1Check pair
0321U1Check pair
0441U1Check pair
0483U1Check pair
0484U1Check pair
0504U1Check pair
87181Sc std agar dilution per agt1Check pair
87184Sc std disk method per plate1Check pair
87185Sc std enzyme detcj per nzm1Check pair
87186Sc std microdil/agar dil1Check pair
87513H pylri clrthmcn rst amp prb1Check 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.