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 RVU | Practice expense RVU | Malpractice RVU | Total | Medicare rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-facility (office) | 0.25 | 0.46 | 0.01 | 0.72 | $24.05 |
| Facility (hospital, ASC) | 0.25 | 0.46 | 0.01 | 0.72 | $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.
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 code | Short description | Modifier indicator | |
|---|---|---|---|
88387 | Macroscopic xm dsj&prep tiss | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
96523 | Irrig drug delivery device | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
G0123 | Screen cerv/vag thin layer | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
G0124 | Screen c/v thin layer by md | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
G0141 | Scr c/v cyto,autosys and md | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
G0143 | Scr c/v cyto,thinlayer,rescr | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
G0144 | Scr c/v cyto,thinlayer,rescr | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
G0145 | Scr c/v cyto,thinlayer,rescr | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
G0147 | Scr c/v cyto, automated sys | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
G0148 | Scr c/v cyto, autosys, rescr | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
P3000 | Screen pap by tech w md supv | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check 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 code | Short description | Modifier indicator | |
|---|---|---|---|
88321 | Consltj&reprt sld prep elswr | 1 | Check pair |
88323 | Consltj&reprt matrl prep sld | 1 | Check pair |
88325 | Consltj compre rvw rec reprt | 1 | Check pair |
P3001 | Screening pap smear by phys | 0 | Check 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.