153 Million Services: COVID Tests Top US Medicare Procedure Volume

Findings

COVID-19 testing tops the volume list at 153 million services

PlainProcedure procedures dataset records the COVID-19 testing code at 153467557 services delivered to 7831696 beneficiaries across 35429 providers. CMS Medicare Physician and Other Practitioners data populates the services column for this code as the highest value among 9297 procedures.CMS Medicare Physician and Other Practitioners - By Provider and Service, 2024 Providers column lists 35429 entities billing COVID-19 testing, while beneficiaries column totals 7831696 unique patients. Procedure profiles expose these metrics for direct API queries on volume leaders.

Beneficiaries column value of 7831696 for COVID-19 testing exceeds counts for injection codes lower in the ranking. Services column at 153467557 services reflects peak demand during the dataset period. PlainProcedure ingests this from CMS Medicare Physician and Other Practitioners - By Provider and Service, enabling volume rankings across all 9297 billing codes. Providers dataset tracks nationwide distribution for the 35429 providers active on this code.CMS Medicare Part B - National Summary Data Files, 2024

California state totals 363973065 services across procedures dataset, where COVID-19 testing contributes to the state_fips leader. Florida follows at 347640147 services statewide, with COVID-19 testing volume feeding into high-population state aggregates. Texas records 273872623 services in total, New York 192534666 services, and Illinois 178358259 services - all states showing elevated procedure volumes tied to the top code's 153467557 services benchmark.CMS Medicare Coverage Database - Procedure Code Lookup, 2024

Procedures dataset volume column positions COVID-19 testing above Established-Patient Office Visit codes in raw services. 35429 providers span the US for this laboratory category procedure. Laboratory procedure category page details related codes with lower services counts.

Office visits and ground mileage round out the top-3 high-volume codes

Established-Patient Office Visit 30-39 minutes code holds 100599346 services to 24623643 beneficiaries across 767724 providers in PlainProcedure procedures dataset. Services column ranks this second among 9297 procedures, with beneficiaries column at 24623643 - a top figure for routine care. Ground mileage per statute mile ambulance transport follows at 99506305 services to 3992532 beneficiaries across 9978 providers, including $7.35 average Medicare payment per mile column.CMS Medicare Physician and Other Practitioners - By Provider and Service, 2024

767724 providers bill the 30-39 minutes office visit code, far exceeding the 9978 providers for ground mileage in providers column. Beneficiaries column shows 24623643 for office visits versus 3992532 for ambulance transport. Procedures dataset captures these in medicine category, with office visit driving broad primary care volume. Medicine procedure category aggregates similar codes.

Ground mileage code payment column averages $7.35 per mile across 99506305 services. California 363973065 total services include contributions from both top-3 codes. Florida 347640147 services and Texas 273872623 services reflect similar patterns in high-volume states. New York 192534666 services and Illinois 178358259 services complete the top states list intersecting with office visit's 100599346 services footprint.CMS Medicare Part B - National Summary Data Files, 2024

Office visit 30-39 minutes exceeds ground mileage in both services and beneficiaries columns. 767724 providers indicate widespread adoption across the 162808 total providers tracked. Ambulance transport limits to 9978 providers focus on specialized billing.

Top-10 codes collectively deliver over 1 billion Medicare services annually

Low-osmolar contrast material per ml ranks fourth at 96784334 services to 922670 beneficiaries across 22473 providers, with $0.11 average Medicare payment per ml in procedures dataset. Certolizumab pegol injection follows fifth at 71633818 services to 21642 beneficiaries. Established-Patient Office Visit 20-29 minutes takes sixth at 71461698 services to 21534436 beneficiaries - highest beneficiaries column in top-10. Therapy exercise procedure 15 minutes ranks seventh at 64830580 services to 3005565 beneficiaries across 104595 providers at $18.05 average payment.CMS Medicare Physician and Other Practitioners - By Provider and Service, 2024

Ferric carboxymaltose injection lists eighth at 58870857 services, testosterone cypionate injection ninth at 58835484 services, and denosumab injection tenth at 55698967 services - all in procedures dataset among 9297 codes. Certolizumab pegol shows high-volume low-beneficiary profile at 71633818 services to 21642 beneficiaries, tied to per-milligram dosing. Therapy exercise reaches 104595 providers, second only to office visits in top-10 provider counts.

Office-visit codes across minutes-bands form the largest procedure category by Medicare volume in category column groupings. 20-29 minutes variant leads top-10 beneficiary counts at 21534436. Low-osmolar contrast material spans 22473 providers for 96784334 services. Data methodology page confirms verbatim ingestion from CMS sources into the 9297-procedure set.

Total providers dataset counts 162808 across the universe, with top-10 codes like therapy exercise at 104595 providers showing concentration. California 363973065 services aggregate top-10 contributions, as do Florida 347640147 services and Texas 273872623 services. New York 192534666 services and Illinois 178358259 services align with injection-heavy codes lower in the list.CMS Medicare Coverage Database - Procedure Code Lookup, 2024 Hospital directory links related inpatient volumes.

Procedures dataset enables per-procedure analysis: COVID-19 testing at 35429 providers contrasts therapy exercise at 104595 providers. Ground mileage $7.35 payment per mile differs from low-osmolar $0.11 per ml. Office visits dominate beneficiaries column across bands.

COVID-19 testing leads at 153467557 services, office visits and ambulance mileage fill top-3 positions with 100599346 and 99506305 services respectively, while top-10 codes span routine office visits, injections, and diagnostic services across 9297 procedures - revealing Medicare physician-service footprint driven by high-frequency primary care and repeatable therapies in the procedures dataset. California 363973065 services and Florida 347640147 services concentrate these volumes among 162808 providers, with office-visit category capturing the broadest routine-care share per CMS Medicare Physician and Other Practitioners data.

Injection and therapy codes reveal repeatable treatment patterns

Beyond the top three volume leaders, the remaining positions illuminate treatment modalities that generate substantial Medicare activity through repeated administration. Certolizumab pegol, a biologic therapy for autoimmune conditions including rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn disease, accounts for 71633818 services but reaches only 21642 beneficiaries - illustrating how chronic biologic regimens inflate service counts per patient. Each certolizumab infusion or injection represents a separate billable encounter, meaning a single patient receiving monthly injections generates twelve service events annually. This pattern differs from one-time surgical procedures where a single beneficiary corresponds to one service event. The therapy exercise procedure at 64830580 services spans 3005565 beneficiaries across 104595 providers, demonstrating widespread outpatient rehabilitation volume. Physical therapy sessions typically recur two to three times weekly during recovery, compounding service counts per episode of care. Ferric carboxymaltose injection, an intravenous iron replacement, tallies 58870857 services for anemia management in chronic kidney disease and heart failure patients, where repeated infusions over months generate high service volumes per beneficiary.CMS Medicare Physician and Other Practitioners - By Provider and Service, 2024

Testosterone cypionate injection at 58835484 services reflects ongoing hormone replacement therapy, another chronic treatment category where periodic injections produce elevated service counts relative to beneficiary numbers. Denosumab injection at 55698967 services covers osteoporosis and bone metastasis treatments administered every six months, contributing to sustained volume. Low-osmolar contrast material at 96784334 services represents a diagnostic supply rather than a therapeutic procedure - every CT scan with contrast generates a contrast material billing event, explaining its high volume despite minimal per-unit payment of eleven cents. These injection and therapy patterns underscore how repeatable treatments dominate Medicare service volume rankings, distinguishing them from one-time surgical interventions that rank lower despite higher per-service payments. The distinction matters for policy analysts studying where Medicare physician-service dollars concentrate: chronic disease management through repeatable therapies generates far more encounters than surgical interventions, even though surgical codes carry higher individual reimbursement amounts. Data methodology preserves these volume patterns verbatim from CMS source files.