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88141 Cytopath c/v interpret

What 88141 is

CMS fee schedule short descriptor: Cytopath c/v interpret.

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 88141 (CY2026)

Work RVUPractice expense RVUMalpractice RVUTotalMedicare rate
Non-facility (office)0.250.460.010.72$24.05
Facility (hospital, ASC)0.250.460.010.72$24.05

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 88141 at 1 unit 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: Nature of Analyte. Units above the cap are denied unless the edit's adjudication rules allow an appeal with documentation.

Billed with 88141? These codes are bundled into it

88141 is a Column 1 code in 11 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
88387Macroscopic xm dsj&prep tiss1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
96523Irrig drug delivery device0 - no modifier bypassCheck pair
G0123Screen cerv/vag thin layer0 - no modifier bypassCheck pair
G0124Screen c/v thin layer by md0 - no modifier bypassCheck pair
G0141Scr c/v cyto,autosys and md0 - no modifier bypassCheck pair
G0143Scr c/v cyto,thinlayer,rescr0 - no modifier bypassCheck pair
G0144Scr c/v cyto,thinlayer,rescr0 - no modifier bypassCheck pair
G0145Scr c/v cyto,thinlayer,rescr0 - no modifier bypassCheck pair
G0147Scr c/v cyto, automated sys0 - no modifier bypassCheck pair
G0148Scr c/v cyto, autosys, rescr0 - no modifier bypassCheck pair
P3000Screen pap by tech w md supv0 - no modifier bypassCheck pair

88141 is bundled into these codes

88141 appears as a Column 2 code in 4 active edits. Reported with one of these Column 1 codes on the same date of service, 88141 is the code that denies.

Column 1 codeShort descriptionModifier indicator
88321Consltj&reprt sld prep elswr1Check pair
88323Consltj&reprt matrl prep sld1Check pair
88325Consltj compre rvw rec reprt1Check pair
P3001Screening pap smear by phys0Check 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.