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Medicare Released the Amount they Will pay for COVID Testing Eff 4/14/2020

Christine Woolstenhulme, QMC QCC CMCS CPC CMRS
2020-04-15

We have had a lot of questions on reimbursement for COVID testing, here is the most recent information we have from CMS, releasing their payment information in a newsletter just today.

CMS states, "Medicare will pay laboratories for the tests at $100 effective April 14, 2020, through the duration of the COVID-19 national emergency." 

In addition, Medicare will pay for new specimen collection fees for COVID-19 testing for home-bound and non-hospital patients for patients that are not able to travel. 

The initial pricing for the new codes U0001 and U0002 for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) test will be about $36 and non-CDC tests will be initially priced around $51, respectively. These prices may vary slightly depending on the local Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC). View the full price by MAC list at: https://www.cms.gov/files/document/maccovid-19-test-pricing.pdf 

For more information on this payment announcement, please visit: https://www.cms.gov/files/document/cms-2020-01-r.pdf