Cost analysis for CPT 88305 — Pathology examination of tissue using a microscope, intermediate complexity
Average Medicare Payment
$32.62
2023 data
Total Payments (2023)
$710.5M
Services (2023)
18.3M
Price Change (2014–2023)
-0.9%
| Year | Avg Payment | Total Payments | Services | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | $32.93 | $708.7M | 19.0M | — |
| 2015 | $33.74 | $733.3M | 19.0M | +2.5% |
| 2016 | $34.05 | $770.6M | 19.7M | +0.9% |
| 2017 | $33.11 | $734.4M | 19.7M | -2.8% |
| 2018 | $33.39 | $745.7M | 19.7M | +0.8% |
| 2019 | $33.60 | $766.3M | 20.1M | +0.6% |
| 2020 | $34.03 | $654.1M | 16.8M | +1.3% |
| 2021 | $33.68 | $722.2M | 18.4M | -1.0% |
| 2022 | $32.99 | $707.4M | 18.1M | -2.0% |
| 2023 | $32.62 | $710.5M | 18.3M | -1.1% |
The most expensive state pays 1.8x more than the cheapest for this procedure. PR averages $48.29 vs SD at $27.01.
| State | Avg Payment | Total Payments | Services | Providers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PR | $48.29 | $559.8K | 11.6K | 54 |
| NY | $45.75 | $57.2M | 1.3M | 979 |
| MD | $43.81 | $16.8M | 382.5K | 273 |
| HI | $43.41 | $1.8M | 41.2K | 51 |
| CA | $43.28 | $81.2M | 1.9M | 1.6K |
| GA | $42.73 | $24.7M | 577.1K | 335 |
| CT | $41.88 | $9.0M | 215.1K | 202 |
| AZ | $41.59 | $19.2M | 461.6K | 270 |
| FL | $41.05 | $81.6M | 2.0M | 978 |
| AL | $40.89 | $13.2M | 323.1K | 178 |
| MA | $40.87 | $27.6M | 674.2K | 516 |
| NJ | $40.36 | $20.7M | 513.9K | 289 |
| NV | $39.73 | $4.9M | 122.4K | 82 |
| TX | $39.69 | $57.8M | 1.5M | 1.1K |
| WY | $39.28 | $818.2K | 20.8K | 19 |
| PA | $39.26 | $31.0M | 790.5K | 616 |
| NC | $39.03 | $22.1M | 566.9K | 439 |
| ID | $39.01 | $1.9M | 47.6K | 45 |
| DC | $38.80 | $2.1M | 54.0K | 57 |
| DE | $38.75 | $1.7M | 43.2K | 37 |
| WA | $37.70 | $13.2M | 349.7K | 335 |
| VA | $37.45 | $14.1M | 375.2K | 252 |
| OH | $35.70 | $21.8M | 610.6K | 556 |
| AK | $35.63 | $517.7K | 14.5K | 17 |
| WI | $35.59 | $13.5M | 378.8K | 301 |
| CO | $35.56 | $8.9M | 250.8K | 228 |
| UT | $35.38 | $3.6M | 101.7K | 154 |
| IL | $34.80 | $22.2M | 639.4K | 583 |
| TN | $34.69 | $22.9M | 659.2K | 415 |
| MO | $34.18 | $8.7M | 255.7K | 285 |
| MI | $34.16 | $10.8M | 316.6K | 469 |
| MS | $34.07 | $3.9M | 113.2K | 87 |
| SC | $33.68 | $11.8M | 350.1K | 235 |
| OR | $33.29 | $5.8M | 173.9K | 270 |
| OK | $33.25 | $4.3M | 130.0K | 100 |
| NH | $33.11 | $3.7M | 111.1K | 67 |
| WV | $32.90 | $1.8M | 55.3K | 76 |
| KS | $32.88 | $6.3M | 191.4K | 129 |
| IN | $32.74 | $9.2M | 280.4K | 231 |
| AR | $32.73 | $8.6M | 261.9K | 178 |
| NM | $32.49 | $1.9M | 57.8K | 66 |
| IA | $31.73 | $5.2M | 163.6K | 128 |
| MN | $31.71 | $8.1M | 256.5K | 494 |
| KY | $31.66 | $5.8M | 184.7K | 176 |
| NE | $31.63 | $3.6M | 113.0K | 100 |
| MT | $31.20 | $1.9M | 61.2K | 39 |
| ME | $30.67 | $1.8M | 59.2K | 63 |
| GU | $29.62 | $12.5K | 423 | 1 |
| RI | $29.04 | $1.0M | 34.8K | 64 |
| ZZ | $29.02 | $49.2K | 1.7K | 5 |
| LA | $28.25 | $4.8M | 169.7K | 215 |
| Provider | Specialty | State | Payments | Services | Avg/Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Institute For Dermatopathology, Inc. | Clinical Laboratory | PA | $7.3M | 133.0K | $54.74 |
| Texas Digestive Disease Consultants, Pllc | Clinical Laboratory | TX | $5.4M | 102.0K | $52.66 |
| Ameripath New York Llc | Clinical Laboratory | NY | $5.2M | 84.1K | $61.71 |
| Ameripath Florida Llc | Clinical Laboratory | FL | $5.0M | 101.2K | $49.52 |
| Cohen Dermatopathology, P.C. | Clinical Laboratory | MA | $4.9M | 88.2K | $56.02 |
| Inform Diagnostics, Inc | Clinical Laboratory | TX | $4.8M | 124.7K | $38.55 |
| Bridge Dermatopathology Services Pllc | Clinical Laboratory | NY | $3.8M | 62.7K | $60.65 |
| Ucsf Dermatopathology Service | Clinical Laboratory | CA | $3.8M | 58.0K | $65.49 |
| Propath Services, Llc | Clinical Laboratory | TX | $3.8M | 74.4K | $50.42 |
| Ameripath Florida Llc | Clinical Laboratory | FL | $3.3M | 68.2K | $48.34 |
| Cockerell Dermatopathology Pa | Clinical Laboratory | TX | $3.2M | 65.8K | $48.65 |
| Ameripath Cincinnati Inc | Clinical Laboratory | OH | $2.8M | 59.4K | $46.72 |
| Advanced Pathology Solutions, Pllc | Clinical Laboratory | AR | $2.6M | 94.1K | $28.17 |
| Independent Clinical Laboratories Inc | Clinical Laboratory | FL | $2.5M | 52.6K | $46.79 |
| Derm Associates Llc | Clinical Laboratory | MD | $2.4M | 39.2K | $60.07 |
| Dermatopathology Laboratory Of Central States | Clinical Laboratory | OH | $2.3M | 54.9K | $41.37 |
| Cblpath, Inc | Clinical Laboratory | NY | $2.2M | 36.2K | $59.81 |
| Veronica Papavero | Pathology | FL | $2.0M | 37.2K | $54.31 |
| Dianon Systems, Inc | Clinical Laboratory | CT | $2.0M | 52.4K | $37.70 |
| Martin Reichel | Dermatology | NY | $1.9M | 30.2K | $64.39 |
Based on the data, CPT 88305 shows a 1.8x variation in pricing across states — moderate variation by Medicare standards.
Costs have decreased 0.9% since 2014. Medicare's fee schedule attempts to standardize pricing, though some variation is expected due to geographic cost-of-living adjustments and practice expense differences.
This analysis is based on publicly available CMS data and does not account for patient complexity, comorbidities, or facility-specific factors that may justify pricing differences.
Note: All data is from publicly available Medicare records. OpenMedicare is an independent journalism project not affiliated with CMS.