Cost analysis for CPT 88312 — Special stained specimen slides to identify organisms including interpretation and report
Average Medicare Payment
$36.65
2023 data
Total Payments (2023)
$82.2M
Services (2023)
1.4M
Price Change (2014–2023)
+15.3%
| Year | Avg Payment | Total Payments | Services | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | $31.78 | $71.1M | 1.6M | — |
| 2015 | $32.61 | $75.2M | 1.6M | +2.6% |
| 2016 | $32.84 | $77.9M | 1.6M | +0.7% |
| 2017 | $32.96 | $77.2M | 1.5M | +0.4% |
| 2018 | $33.31 | $79.5M | 1.5M | +1.1% |
| 2019 | $34.18 | $83.1M | 1.6M | +2.6% |
| 2020 | $35.68 | $72.1M | 1.3M | +4.4% |
| 2021 | $36.54 | $83.1M | 1.4M | +2.4% |
| 2022 | $36.44 | $79.7M | 1.3M | -0.3% |
| 2023 | $36.65 | $82.2M | 1.4M | +0.6% |
The most expensive state pays 3.7x more than the cheapest for this procedure. PR averages $77.69 vs GU at $21.26.
| State | Avg Payment | Total Payments | Services | Providers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PR | $77.69 | $164.1K | 2.1K | 17 |
| NJ | $75.29 | $4.5M | 60.0K | 171 |
| MD | $74.88 | $2.7M | 36.7K | 129 |
| GA | $74.34 | $8.3M | 111.5K | 244 |
| CA | $70.88 | $10.5M | 148.2K | 733 |
| NY | $70.61 | $10.5M | 149.2K | 428 |
| AZ | $69.40 | $1.9M | 27.6K | 146 |
| MA | $67.74 | $2.7M | 39.5K | 237 |
| CT | $66.09 | $752.3K | 11.4K | 81 |
| UT | $61.99 | $408.0K | 6.6K | 55 |
| HI | $60.36 | $84.4K | 1.4K | 19 |
| FL | $59.24 | $12.1M | 204.8K | 506 |
| AL | $57.62 | $865.8K | 15.0K | 101 |
| PA | $57.56 | $2.4M | 41.4K | 315 |
| TX | $57.50 | $5.7M | 98.3K | 581 |
| WA | $54.26 | $682.1K | 12.6K | 147 |
| TN | $54.16 | $1.9M | 35.9K | 196 |
| NV | $52.31 | $121.6K | 2.3K | 29 |
| DE | $51.96 | $160.8K | 3.1K | 22 |
| OH | $51.85 | $1.2M | 23.7K | 233 |
| ID | $51.65 | $120.6K | 2.3K | 18 |
| IL | $51.55 | $1.7M | 33.8K | 307 |
| SC | $51.45 | $1.1M | 21.8K | 151 |
| NC | $51.17 | $1.2M | 24.2K | 189 |
| VA | $50.49 | $1.2M | 23.1K | 120 |
| NM | $50.11 | $276.1K | 5.5K | 33 |
| NH | $48.87 | $257.8K | 5.3K | 46 |
| OR | $48.15 | $326.6K | 6.8K | 69 |
| AR | $47.90 | $2.9M | 60.9K | 87 |
| MI | $46.04 | $519.9K | 11.3K | 165 |
| CO | $45.36 | $431.3K | 9.5K | 114 |
| LA | $45.21 | $604.7K | 13.4K | 102 |
| WI | $42.14 | $691.9K | 16.4K | 153 |
| MO | $41.02 | $550.4K | 13.4K | 147 |
| IA | $40.87 | $170.2K | 4.2K | 66 |
| OK | $39.91 | $364.5K | 9.1K | 57 |
| WV | $39.05 | $89.3K | 2.3K | 33 |
| IN | $37.42 | $331.2K | 8.8K | 116 |
| KY | $37.05 | $249.8K | 6.7K | 101 |
| KS | $36.96 | $294.4K | 8.0K | 73 |
| MT | $36.61 | $59.0K | 1.6K | 25 |
| WY | $33.73 | $6.6K | 197 | 4 |
| DC | $33.69 | $187.8K | 5.6K | 22 |
| MN | $31.92 | $214.6K | 6.7K | 135 |
| MS | $29.72 | $235.5K | 7.9K | 61 |
| AK | $28.70 | $40.8K | 1.4K | 13 |
| ME | $26.23 | $37.5K | 1.4K | 30 |
| ND | $25.27 | $64.3K | 2.5K | 27 |
| SD | $24.25 | $32.1K | 1.3K | 19 |
| NE | $24.23 | $84.0K | 3.5K | 55 |
| VT | $23.69 | $22.0K | 928 | 20 |
| Provider | Specialty | State | Payments | Services | Avg/Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced Pathology Solutions, Pllc | Clinical Laboratory | AR | $2.3M | 46.9K | $48.19 |
| Pathology On The Go Inc. | Clinical Laboratory | FL | $1.8M | 26.8K | $68.86 |
| Scott Acker | Pathology | GA | $1.7M | 20.1K | $85.54 |
| Acupath Laboratories, Inc. | Clinical Laboratory | NY | $1.4M | 16.7K | $83.21 |
| Mcclain Laboratories Llc | Clinical Laboratory | NY | $1.2M | 11.1K | $104.34 |
| Annapath, Inc | Clinical Laboratory | MD | $1.1M | 13.0K | $85.29 |
| Charles Aiesi Consulting. Inc. | Clinical Laboratory | FL | $1.1M | 16.7K | $65.90 |
| Michael Mcginnis | Pathology | CA | $945.8K | 10.1K | $93.76 |
| Cdx Diagnostics, Inc. | Clinical Laboratory | NY | $917.3K | 16.3K | $56.16 |
| William Betsill | Pathology | GA | $839.6K | 9.9K | $84.85 |
| Mark Tran | Dermatology | CA | $758.3K | 7.2K | $105.02 |
| Jochen Schaefer | Pathology | CA | $744.7K | 8.2K | $90.34 |
| John Grimwood | Pathology | GA | $725.3K | 8.5K | $85.58 |
| Carolina Montes | Pathology | GA | $678.7K | 7.9K | $85.97 |
| Stacey Longo | Pathology | NJ | $664.6K | 8.1K | $81.83 |
| Interscience Diagnostic Laboratories,inc | Clinical Laboratory | NY | $656.9K | 7.5K | $87.80 |
| Karabi Sinha | Pathology | NJ | $637.0K | 6.4K | $99.15 |
| Jasminka Balderacchi | Pathology | NY | $621.9K | 6.3K | $98.36 |
| Weijian Zhu | Pathology | GA | $583.9K | 6.9K | $84.14 |
| Catherine Lee | Dermatology | CA | $582.3K | 5.6K | $104.20 |
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.
Note: All data is from publicly available Medicare records. OpenMedicare is an independent journalism project not affiliated with CMS.