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88121 Cytp urine 3-5 probes cmptr

What 88121 is

CMS fee schedule short descriptor: Cytp urine 3-5 probes cmptr.

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 88121 (CY2026)

Work RVUPractice expense RVUMalpractice RVUTotalMedicare rate
Non-facility (office)0.9810.770.0411.79$393.80
Facility (hospital, ASC)0.9810.770.0411.79$393.80

National rates: total RVUs x the CY2026 conversion factor of 33.4009 (non-QP), before geographic adjustment. Actual Medicare payment is 80% of the rate shown after the deductible; the patient or secondary payer owes the 20% coinsurance.


Status: Active - payable under the Physician Fee Schedule. Global period: Global concept does not apply.

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Medically Unlikely Edit (MUE)

Medicare caps 88121 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 88121? These codes are bundled into it

88121 is a Column 1 code in 25 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
0009U1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
0086U1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
0140U1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
0141U1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
0142U1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
0321U1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
80503Path clin consltj sf 5-201 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
80504Path clin consltj mod 21-401 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
80505Path clin consltj high 41-601 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
80506Path clin consltj prolng svc1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
88271Cytogenetics dna probe1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
88272Cytogenetics 3-51 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
88273Cytogenetics 10-301 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
88274Cytogenetics 25-991 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
88275Cytogenetics 100-3001 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
88358Analysis tumor1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
88365Insitu hybridization (fish)1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
88366Insitu hybridization (fish)1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
88367Insitu hybridization auto1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
88368Insitu hybridization manual1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
88374M/phmtrc alys ishquant/semiq1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
88377M/phmtrc alys ishquant/semiq1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
88380Microdissection laser1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
88381Microdissection manual1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
96523Irrig drug delivery device0 - no modifier bypassCheck pair

88121 is bundled into these codes

88121 appears as a Column 2 code in 4 active edits. Reported with one of these Column 1 codes on the same date of service, 88121 is the code that denies.

Column 1 codeShort descriptionModifier indicator
88120Cytp urne 3-5 probes ea spec0Check pair
88321Consltj&reprt sld prep elswr1Check pair
88323Consltj&reprt matrl prep sld1Check pair
88325Consltj compre rvw rec reprt1Check 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.