Laboratory · 88161
Screening Examination Of Specimen Cells, Preparation, Screening And Interpretation
What Medicare pays for 88161, what providers bill, and how the price varies across 29 states, drawn from CMS 2023 claims data.
- $24.02
- Medicare pays
- $97.18
- Providers bill
- 4.0×
- Markup
- #3,550 of 9,297
- Volume rank
The verdict
Screening Examination Of Specimen Cells, Preparation, Screening And Interpretation pairs above-median national service volume with a below-median markup.
- Top 38%
- national service volume
- 30th pct.
- billed-to-Medicare markup
- 4.0×
- billed vs. Medicare
- $24.02
- Medicare pays, national avg
Volume percentile ranks this code's national service volume against every tracked procedure; markup percentile ranks its billed-to-Medicare ratio the same way. The same two figures drive both the verdict sentence and the chips above.
According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the 2023 Medicare Physician & Other Practitioners dataset records payments for 9,297 procedure codes billed across 5,426 hospitals in 56 states and territories; see our methodology for how each figure is sourced and computed.
Jurisdiction coverage for this code
56states and territories in the CMS extract
Price Range Across States
What You Might Pay
Estimated using RAND 2024 commercial-to-Medicare ratios. Actual prices vary by insurer, plan, and facility.
How we estimate these prices
These estimates are based on the RAND Hospital Price Transparency Study (4th Edition, 2024). We map each PlainProcedure category onto a RAND CPT-section bucket (Surgery, Radiology, Pathology and Laboratory, Medicine, Anesthesia, Evaluation and Management) or fall back to the national average when no bucket matches. For Laboratory, the applied ratio is 1.85x Medicare (RAND 2024 Pathology and Laboratory bucket (1.85x) + CMS Medicare baseline). Cash/self-pay estimates blend typical cash discounts (55% of billed charges) with Medicare-based estimates (150% of allowed amounts). These are statistical estimates, not quotes. Contact your insurer or provider for actual costs.
Where this markup sits nationally
Markup (billed ÷ Medicare) across 8,901 procedures with a meaningful Medicare rate
4 more affordable than 30% of 8,901 procedures
Each bar is a 1-wide band; taller bars hold more procedures. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source CMS Medicare Physician & Other Practitioners · 2023
What the billed charge breaks down into
$97.18
Prices by State
| State | Medicare Payment | Billed Charge |
|---|---|---|
| Tennessee | $55.80 | $132.85 |
| Arkansas | $44.36 | $127.03 |
| Georgia | $32.87 | $115.89 |
| New Jersey | $31.94 | $73.45 |
| New York | $30.97 | $69.21 |
| North Carolina | $27.16 | $90.56 |
| California | $23.25 | $82.24 |
| District of Columbia | $21.63 | $100.00 |
| South Carolina | $21.43 | $92.20 |
| Maryland | $21.07 | $76.86 |
| Florida | $20.48 | $92.08 |
| Colorado | $20.36 | $96.21 |
| Rhode Island | $20.21 | $79.62 |
| Massachusetts | $19.65 | $90.73 |
| New Mexico | $19.61 | $73.76 |
| Washington | $19.53 | $78.00 |
| Pennsylvania | $19.51 | $74.77 |
| Minnesota | $19.42 | $98.66 |
| Louisiana | $19.38 | $78.00 |
| Iowa | $19.34 | $127.57 |
| Illinois | $19.23 | $140.04 |
| Wisconsin | $19.06 | $134.91 |
| Texas | $18.94 | $90.97 |
| Oklahoma | $18.93 | $67.30 |
| Missouri | $18.67 | $102.88 |
| Mississippi | $18.66 | $95.30 |
| Indiana | $18.57 | $110.08 |
| Alabama | $18.51 | $75.54 |
| Kentucky | $18.26 | $106.30 |
What the Data Says About Screening Examination Of Specimen Cells, Preparation, Screening And Interpretation
Across 29 states with reporting providers, CPT code 88161 (Screening Examination Of Specimen Cells, Preparation, Screening And Interpretation) shows a national average Medicare payment of $24.02 against an average billed charge of $97.18. That gap, a 4.0x markup, or 304% above the Medicare allowed amount, is narrower than most procedures in our dataset, suggesting providers price this code closer to what payers actually reimburse.
Laboratory procedures like this one saw 4.0K services billed to Medicare in 2023 by 478 distinct providers, serving 3.4K unique beneficiaries. State-level variation is significant: Kentucky reports the lowest average payment at $18.26, while Tennessee reports the highest at $55.80. A 206% spread this wide is typically a GPCI story: practice-expense and malpractice-premium components of the fee formula diverge sharply by locality even though the procedure code never changes. Applying the RAND 2024 commercial-to-Medicare ratio for this category (1.85x Medicare; RAND 2024 Pathology and Laboratory bucket (1.85x) + CMS Medicare baseline), the estimated commercial insurance price lands near $57.05, with self-pay cash discounts commonly bringing the figure closer to $49.85. Within Laboratory, Screening Examination Of Specimen Cells, Preparation, Screening And Interpretation ranks #183 of 502 tracked procedures by national average Medicare payment.
Where this sits in the registry
Screening Examination Of Specimen Cells, Preparation, Screening And Interpretation (88161) is a CMS 2023 Part B code. These pages keep the volume map and the markup map separate.
- National volume versus markup on the statistics page, the same two maps as this capsule. Statistics
- Other Laboratory codes, ranked by Medicare payment inside the category. Category
- How volume rank and markup rank are computed. Methodology
- The full procedures listing in volume order. Procedures
Figures here are CMS averages, not a quote for any patient, plan, or visit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does Screening Examination Of Specimen Cells, Preparation, Screening And Interpretation rank among Medicare procedures?
According to CMS Medicare Part B claims, Screening Examination Of Specimen Cells, Preparation, Screening And Interpretation (CPT 88161) ranks #3,550 of 9,297 procedures by national service volume, the same sort as the procedures listing, and #183 of 502 within Laboratory by national average Medicare payment. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
How much does Screening Examination Of Specimen Cells, Preparation, Screening And Interpretation cost?
Screening Examination Of Specimen Cells, Preparation, Screening And Interpretation (CPT 88161) shows unusually wide state-to-state pricing: Medicare pays $24.02 on average nationally, but the $18.26-$55.80 range across states spans more than double from cheapest to priciest.
Why do providers charge more than Medicare pays?
Providers set their own chargemaster rates (billed charges), which are typically much higher than what any insurer pays. Medicare pays a fixed rate based on the procedure code and geographic location. The billed charge is relevant mainly for uninsured patients, who may face prices closer to the submitted charge.
How much does Screening Examination Of Specimen Cells, Preparation, Screening And Interpretation cost with insurance?
With commercial insurance, screening examination of specimen cells, preparation, screening and interpretation costs an estimated $57.05 on average (range: $39.94-$79.88), a moderate premium over Medicare's $24.02. Without insurance, the estimated cash price is $49.85.
Which state has the lowest cost for Screening Examination Of Specimen Cells, Preparation, Screening And Interpretation?
Kentucky has by far the lowest average Medicare payment for Screening Examination Of Specimen Cells, Preparation, Screening And Interpretation at $18.26, while Tennessee pays more than double at $55.80 - a $37.54 gap.
How many providers perform Screening Examination Of Specimen Cells, Preparation, Screening And Interpretation?
Screening Examination Of Specimen Cells, Preparation, Screening And Interpretation is comparatively uncommon: only 478 providers nationally billed Medicare for it in 2023, serving 3.4K beneficiaries via 4.0K total services.
What is the billed-to-Medicare markup for Screening Examination Of Specimen Cells, Preparation, Screening And Interpretation?
Providers bill 4.0x what Medicare pays for Screening Examination Of Specimen Cells, Preparation, Screening And Interpretation - a below-median markup at 304% above the Medicare rate.
Nationwide similar CPT codes
Data-derived peers across the CMS Physician & Other Practitioners extract: nearest national service volume and nearest average Medicare payment. Not clinical substitutes: claim-mass and payment neighborhoods only.
Closest national service volume
Nearest codes with ≥100 services (4.0K here).
Closest average Medicare payment
Nearest codes with payment ≥ $5 ($24.02 here).
Related Guides
Tips to reduce out-of-pocket costs
Your right to upfront pricing
How Medicare payments work
Decode charges and codes
Why bills exceed actual costs
Geographic pricing factors
Data from CMS Medicare Physician & Other Practitioners (2023).
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Related
Every figure on PlainProcedure is rendered directly from CMS Medicare Physician & Other Practitioners data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on CMS Medicare Physician & Other Practitioners data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, the data changelog, or report a data error.