Cost analysis for CPT G0480 — Drug test(s), definitive, utilizing (1) drug identification methods able to identify individual drugs and distinguish between structural isomers (but not necessarily stereoisomers), including, but not limited to gc/ms (any type, single or tandem) and lc/ms
Average Medicare Payment
$108.21
2023 data
Total Payments (2023)
$70.3M
Services (2023)
635.7K
Price Change (2016–2023)
+46.7%
| Year | Avg Payment | Total Payments | Services | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | $73.75 | $60.1M | 821.4K | — |
| 2017 | $109.41 | $98.9M | 879.9K | +48.4% |
| 2018 | $108.45 | $102.7M | 931.7K | -0.9% |
| 2019 | $108.98 | $104.5M | 948.9K | +0.5% |
| 2020 | $110.87 | $78.4M | 700.8K | +1.7% |
| 2021 | $110.86 | $77.0M | 683.7K | -0.0% |
| 2022 | $108.75 | $73.1M | 656.8K | -1.9% |
| 2023 | $108.21 | $70.3M | 635.7K | -0.5% |
The most expensive state pays 1.1x more than the cheapest for this procedure. MT averages $112.14 vs IA at $99.07.
| State | Avg Payment | Total Payments | Services | Providers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MT | $112.14 | $26.5K | 236 | 4 |
| DC | $112.14 | $23.8K | 212 | 1 |
| UT | $112.06 | $152.7K | 1.4K | 5 |
| ND | $112.03 | $379.0K | 3.4K | 6 |
| IL | $111.99 | $1.9M | 16.9K | 21 |
| WV | $111.95 | $286.5K | 2.6K | 13 |
| FL | $111.83 | $3.2M | 28.2K | 135 |
| MA | $111.80 | $4.7M | 42.4K | 45 |
| NM | $111.78 | $96.1K | 860 | 7 |
| PA | $111.64 | $4.0M | 35.6K | 42 |
| NV | $111.63 | $1.7M | 14.9K | 14 |
| MD | $111.62 | $907.2K | 8.1K | 31 |
| LA | $111.62 | $857.3K | 7.7K | 30 |
| RI | $111.59 | $2.6M | 23.4K | 2 |
| GA | $111.56 | $5.1M | 46.1K | 107 |
| WI | $111.50 | $293.0K | 2.6K | 8 |
| ME | $111.33 | $34.1K | 306 | 2 |
| AK | $111.32 | $21.0K | 189 | 4 |
| CT | $111.31 | $386.9K | 3.5K | 17 |
| CA | $111.29 | $5.6M | 50.4K | 47 |
| KS | $111.21 | $641.2K | 5.8K | 4 |
| MO | $111.18 | $686.0K | 6.2K | 23 |
| NE | $111.07 | $49.0K | 441 | 7 |
| NJ | $111.05 | $4.5M | 40.5K | 49 |
| CO | $110.96 | $341.8K | 3.1K | 27 |
| WA | $110.89 | $1.5M | 13.9K | 38 |
| OR | $110.49 | $942.3K | 8.5K | 21 |
| IN | $110.32 | $2.0M | 17.9K | 50 |
| MS | $110.32 | $618.0K | 5.6K | 41 |
| NY | $110.32 | $2.4M | 21.5K | 31 |
| MI | $110.29 | $1.7M | 15.5K | 27 |
| ID | $110.15 | $75.5K | 685 | 7 |
| KY | $110.08 | $3.2M | 29.3K | 127 |
| AR | $109.71 | $179.6K | 1.6K | 21 |
| TX | $109.69 | $5.6M | 50.9K | 144 |
| AL | $109.59 | $1.4M | 12.9K | 27 |
| AZ | $109.40 | $677.2K | 6.2K | 15 |
| OK | $109.20 | $801.6K | 7.3K | 35 |
| TN | $109.08 | $2.1M | 19.0K | 71 |
| NH | $108.43 | $150.8K | 1.4K | 1 |
| VA | $108.37 | $305.7K | 2.8K | 13 |
| HI | $108.37 | $86.5K | 798 | 5 |
| NC | $108.03 | $5.9M | 54.3K | 148 |
| MN | $106.48 | $349.4K | 3.3K | 27 |
| SC | $106.34 | $743.3K | 7.0K | 54 |
| OH | $105.84 | $1.0M | 9.9K | 27 |
| IA | $99.07 | $61.1K | 617 | 8 |
| Provider | Specialty | State | Payments | Services | Avg/Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laboratory Corporation Of America Holdings | Clinical Laboratory | NC | $2.9M | 27.4K | $106.30 |
| Dominion Diagnostics, Llc | Clinical Laboratory | RI | $2.6M | 23.2K | $111.64 |
| Quest Diagnostics Massachusetts Llc | Clinical Laboratory | MA | $2.1M | 18.9K | $112.14 |
| Unilab Corporation | Clinical Laboratory | CA | $1.8M | 16.1K | $112.04 |
| Quest Diagnostics Clinical Laboratories Inc | Clinical Laboratory | GA | $1.8M | 15.9K | $112.11 |
| Quest Diagnostics Incorporated | Clinical Laboratory | NJ | $1.7M | 15.5K | $112.10 |
| Quest Diagnostics Llc Il | Clinical Laboratory | IL | $1.5M | 13.0K | $112.13 |
| Paradigm Labs, Llc | Clinical Laboratory | GA | $1.4M | 12.4K | $111.39 |
| Quest Diagnostics Clinical Laboratories Inc | Clinical Laboratory | TX | $1.4M | 12.3K | $112.02 |
| Quest Diagnostics Clinical Laboratories Inc | Clinical Laboratory | FL | $1.3M | 11.6K | $111.98 |
| Unilab Corporation | Clinical Laboratory | CA | $1.3M | 11.5K | $111.79 |
| Millennium Health, Llc | Clinical Laboratory | CA | $1.2M | 10.5K | $111.78 |
| Drugscan, Inc. | Clinical Laboratory | PA | $1.2M | 10.3K | $111.58 |
| Quest Diagnostics Llc | Clinical Laboratory | MA | $1.1M | 10.2K | $111.27 |
| Regional Toxicology Services, Llc | Clinical Laboratory | WA | $1.0M | 9.4K | $111.79 |
| Laboratory Corporation Of America Holdings | Clinical Laboratory | NJ | $911.9K | 8.3K | $109.52 |
| Ethos Holding Corp | Clinical Laboratory | KY | $897.8K | 8.0K | $112.09 |
| Steven Kozmary | Interventional Pain Management | NV | $777.6K | 6.9K | $112.09 |
| Laboratory Corporation Of America Holdings | Clinical Laboratory | NC | $751.5K | 7.0K | $107.75 |
| Aegis Sciences Corporation | Clinical Laboratory | TN | $717.1K | 6.5K | $109.65 |
Based on the data, CPT G0480 shows a 1.1x variation in pricing across states — relatively consistent by Medicare standards.
Costs have increased 46.7% since 2016. 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.