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Data Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Medicare Provider Utilization and Payment Data
Disclaimer: This site is an independent journalism project. Data analysis and editorial content are not affiliated with or endorsed by CMS or any government agency. All spending figures are based on publicly available Medicare payment records.
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Methodology•Download Data
  1. Home
  2. Procedures
  3. 88312
  4. Cost Analysis

How Much Does Special stained specimen slides to identify organisms including interpretation and report Cost on Medicare?

Cost analysis for CPT 88312 — Special stained specimen slides to identify organisms including interpretation and report

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Average Medicare Payment

$36.65

2023 data

Total Payments (2023)

$82.2M

Services (2023)

1.4M

Price Change (2014–2023)

+15.3%

📈 Year-over-Year Cost Trend

YearAvg PaymentTotal PaymentsServicesYoY Change
2014$31.78$71.1M1.6M—
2015$32.61$75.2M1.6M+2.6%
2016$32.84$77.9M1.6M+0.7%
2017$32.96$77.2M1.5M+0.4%
2018$33.31$79.5M1.5M+1.1%
2019$34.18$83.1M1.6M+2.6%
2020$35.68$72.1M1.3M+4.4%
2021$36.54$83.1M1.4M+2.4%
2022$36.44$79.7M1.3M-0.3%
2023$36.65$82.2M1.4M+0.6%

🗺️ State-by-State Cost Variation

The most expensive state pays 3.7x more than the cheapest for this procedure. PR averages $77.69 vs GU at $21.26.

StateAvg PaymentTotal PaymentsServicesProviders
PR$77.69$164.1K2.1K17
NJ$75.29$4.5M60.0K171
MD$74.88$2.7M36.7K129
GA$74.34$8.3M111.5K244
CA$70.88$10.5M148.2K733
NY$70.61$10.5M149.2K428
AZ$69.40$1.9M27.6K146
MA$67.74$2.7M39.5K237
CT$66.09$752.3K11.4K81
UT$61.99$408.0K6.6K55
HI$60.36$84.4K1.4K19
FL$59.24$12.1M204.8K506
AL$57.62$865.8K15.0K101
PA$57.56$2.4M41.4K315
TX$57.50$5.7M98.3K581
WA$54.26$682.1K12.6K147
TN$54.16$1.9M35.9K196
NV$52.31$121.6K2.3K29
DE$51.96$160.8K3.1K22
OH$51.85$1.2M23.7K233
ID$51.65$120.6K2.3K18
IL$51.55$1.7M33.8K307
SC$51.45$1.1M21.8K151
NC$51.17$1.2M24.2K189
VA$50.49$1.2M23.1K120
NM$50.11$276.1K5.5K33
NH$48.87$257.8K5.3K46
OR$48.15$326.6K6.8K69
AR$47.90$2.9M60.9K87
MI$46.04$519.9K11.3K165
CO$45.36$431.3K9.5K114
LA$45.21$604.7K13.4K102
WI$42.14$691.9K16.4K153
MO$41.02$550.4K13.4K147
IA$40.87$170.2K4.2K66
OK$39.91$364.5K9.1K57
WV$39.05$89.3K2.3K33
IN$37.42$331.2K8.8K116
KY$37.05$249.8K6.7K101
KS$36.96$294.4K8.0K73
MT$36.61$59.0K1.6K25
WY$33.73$6.6K1974
DC$33.69$187.8K5.6K22
MN$31.92$214.6K6.7K135
MS$29.72$235.5K7.9K61
AK$28.70$40.8K1.4K13
ME$26.23$37.5K1.4K30
ND$25.27$64.3K2.5K27
SD$24.25$32.1K1.3K19
NE$24.23$84.0K3.5K55
VT$23.69$22.0K92820

💰 Who Bills the Most for This Procedure?

ProviderSpecialtyStatePaymentsServicesAvg/Service
Advanced Pathology Solutions, PllcClinical LaboratoryAR$2.3M46.9K$48.19
Pathology On The Go Inc.Clinical LaboratoryFL$1.8M26.8K$68.86
Scott AckerPathologyGA$1.7M20.1K$85.54
Acupath Laboratories, Inc.Clinical LaboratoryNY$1.4M16.7K$83.21
Mcclain Laboratories LlcClinical LaboratoryNY$1.2M11.1K$104.34
Annapath, IncClinical LaboratoryMD$1.1M13.0K$85.29
Charles Aiesi Consulting. Inc.Clinical LaboratoryFL$1.1M16.7K$65.90
Michael McginnisPathologyCA$945.8K10.1K$93.76
Cdx Diagnostics, Inc.Clinical LaboratoryNY$917.3K16.3K$56.16
William BetsillPathologyGA$839.6K9.9K$84.85
Mark TranDermatologyCA$758.3K7.2K$105.02
Jochen SchaeferPathologyCA$744.7K8.2K$90.34
John GrimwoodPathologyGA$725.3K8.5K$85.58
Carolina MontesPathologyGA$678.7K7.9K$85.97
Stacey LongoPathologyNJ$664.6K8.1K$81.83
Interscience Diagnostic Laboratories,incClinical LaboratoryNY$656.9K7.5K$87.80
Karabi SinhaPathologyNJ$637.0K6.4K$99.15
Jasminka BalderacchiPathologyNY$621.9K6.3K$98.36
Weijian ZhuPathologyGA$583.9K6.9K$84.14
Catherine LeeDermatologyCA$582.3K5.6K$104.20

🤔 Is Special stained specimen slides to identify organisms including interpretation and report Overpriced?

The data suggests significant pricing inconsistencies for CPT 88312. With a 3.7x price gap between the most and least expensive states, geography plays an outsized role in what Medicare pays for this procedure.

Costs have risen 15.3% since 2014, outpacing inflation and raising questions about whether reimbursement rates reflect actual costs.

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.

Data Sources

  • • Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
  • • Medicare Provider Utilization and Payment Data (2014-2023)
  • • Medicare Physician Fee Schedule

Note: All data is from publicly available Medicare records. OpenMedicare is an independent journalism project not affiliated with CMS.