Cost analysis for CPT U0003 — Infectious agent detection by nucleic acid (dna or rna); severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (sars-cov-2) (coronavirus disease [covid-19]), amplified probe technique, making use of high throughput technologies as described by cms-2020-01-r
Average Medicare Payment
$73.17
2023 data
Total Payments (2023)
$94.9M
Services (2023)
1.3M
Price Change (2020–2023)
-25.8%
| Year | Avg Payment | Total Payments | Services | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $98.66 | $719.6M | 7.2M | — |
| 2021 | $74.65 | $651.5M | 8.7M | -24.3% |
| 2022 | $73.87 | $493.1M | 6.6M | -1.0% |
| 2023 | $73.17 | $94.9M | 1.3M | -0.9% |
The most expensive state pays 1.0x more than the cheapest for this procedure. PA averages $73.50 vs MN at $72.91.
| State | Avg Payment | Total Payments | Services | Providers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PA | $73.50 | $799.2K | 10.9K | 16 |
| GA | $73.50 | $572.7K | 7.8K | 22 |
| SC | $73.50 | $386.4K | 5.3K | 4 |
| MO | $73.50 | $329.1K | 4.5K | 3 |
| KS | $73.50 | $320.5K | 4.4K | 6 |
| NV | $73.50 | $215.9K | 2.9K | 4 |
| CT | $73.50 | $126.5K | 1.7K | 4 |
| OK | $73.50 | $121.3K | 1.6K | 7 |
| AR | $73.50 | $100.8K | 1.4K | 9 |
| ME | $73.50 | $73.6K | 1.0K | 1 |
| DE | $73.50 | $58.1K | 791 | 2 |
| RI | $73.50 | $35.1K | 477 | 3 |
| NM | $73.50 | $31.6K | 430 | 3 |
| WV | $73.50 | $11.1K | 151 | 1 |
| PR | $73.50 | $10.0K | 136 | 5 |
| NC | $73.50 | $6.5M | 88.3K | 14 |
| LA | $73.49 | $1.0M | 14.1K | 14 |
| IL | $73.49 | $24.2M | 328.8K | 97 |
| CO | $73.49 | $456.7K | 6.2K | 7 |
| CA | $73.49 | $32.8M | 445.9K | 133 |
| NY | $73.49 | $2.8M | 38.4K | 122 |
| AZ | $73.49 | $1.8M | 24.9K | 11 |
| IN | $73.48 | $271.6K | 3.7K | 7 |
| OR | $73.48 | $506.4K | 6.9K | 15 |
| FL | $73.48 | $2.5M | 34.6K | 54 |
| MA | $73.47 | $381.9K | 5.2K | 51 |
| OH | $73.47 | $818.2K | 11.1K | 12 |
| HI | $73.47 | $143.2K | 1.9K | 2 |
| MI | $73.46 | $439.4K | 6.0K | 25 |
| VA | $73.46 | $921.8K | 12.5K | 15 |
| WA | $73.46 | $670.0K | 9.1K | 18 |
| NJ | $73.44 | $7.7M | 105.2K | 76 |
| TX | $73.42 | $4.1M | 56.4K | 64 |
| MD | $73.42 | $825.1K | 11.2K | 38 |
| TN | $73.41 | $901.5K | 12.3K | 26 |
| KY | $73.40 | $324.6K | 4.4K | 12 |
| MS | $73.35 | $257.2K | 3.5K | 5 |
| UT | $73.34 | $185.2K | 2.5K | 4 |
| NH | $73.29 | $26.0K | 355 | 4 |
| AL | $73.21 | $234.2K | 3.2K | 11 |
| IA | $73.17 | $32.8K | 448 | 5 |
| NE | $72.92 | $18.6K | 255 | 1 |
| WI | $72.91 | $557.1K | 7.6K | 9 |
| MN | $72.91 | $217.6K | 3.0K | 22 |
| Provider | Specialty | State | Payments | Services | Avg/Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sinai Laboratory Corp | Clinical Laboratory | IL | $6.7M | 91.4K | $73.50 |
| West Coast Medical Labs Inc | Clinical Laboratory | CA | $4.8M | 64.7K | $73.50 |
| Alpha Diagnostics, Llc | Clinical Laboratory | NC | $4.3M | 59.1K | $73.50 |
| Fz Medical Group Inc | Clinical Laboratory | IL | $4.3M | 58.6K | $73.50 |
| Shoreline Diagnostics Llc | Clinical Laboratory | CA | $3.5M | 47.1K | $73.50 |
| Pacific Medical Labs | Clinical Laboratory | CA | $3.2M | 43.3K | $73.50 |
| Clarity Testing Services | Clinical Laboratory | IL | $2.5M | 33.6K | $73.50 |
| Optimalab Inc | Clinical Laboratory | IL | $2.1M | 28.1K | $73.50 |
| Pasteur Inc | Clinical Laboratory | CA | $1.8M | 24.2K | $73.49 |
| Discover Labs Llc | Clinical Laboratory | TX | $1.4M | 19.6K | $73.49 |
| Prime Lab, Inc. | Clinical Laboratory | CA | $1.4M | 19.2K | $73.50 |
| Genentox Laboratories Llc | Clinical Laboratory | CA | $1.4M | 18.6K | $73.49 |
| Simple Laboratories Llc | Clinical Laboratory | IL | $1.4M | 18.5K | $73.50 |
| Avellino Lab Usa, Inc. | Clinical Laboratory | CA | $1.3M | 17.9K | $73.50 |
| Laboratory Corporation Of America Holdings | Clinical Laboratory | NJ | $1.2M | 16.5K | $73.17 |
| Centers Lab Nj Llc | Clinical Laboratory | NJ | $1.2M | 16.4K | $73.50 |
| Quest Diagnostics Incorporated | Clinical Laboratory | NJ | $1.2M | 16.3K | $73.50 |
| Laboratory Corporation Of America Holdings | Clinical Laboratory | NC | $1.2M | 15.9K | $73.50 |
| Med Rush Clinical Lab Inc | Clinical Laboratory | IL | $1.1M | 15.4K | $73.50 |
| Genetic Technological Innovations, Llc | Clinical Laboratory | AZ | $1.1M | 14.8K | $73.50 |
Based on the data, CPT U0003 shows a 1.0x variation in pricing across states — relatively consistent by Medicare standards.
Costs have decreased 25.8% since 2020. 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.