Cost analysis for CPT U0005 — 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, cdc or non-cdc, making use of high throughput technologies, completed within
Average Medicare Payment
$24.39
2023 data
Total Payments (2023)
$36.2M
Services (2023)
1.5M
Price Change (2021–2023)
-1.6%
| Year | Avg Payment | Total Payments | Services | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $24.78 | $228.6M | 9.2M | — |
| 2022 | $24.57 | $193.9M | 7.8M | -0.8% |
| 2023 | $24.39 | $36.2M | 1.5M | -0.7% |
The most expensive state pays 1.0x more than the cheapest for this procedure. VA averages $24.51 vs MN at $24.03.
| State | Avg Payment | Total Payments | Services | Providers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VA | $24.51 | $322.0K | 13.1K | 19 |
| GA | $24.50 | $174.4K | 7.1K | 28 |
| CA | $24.50 | $11.5M | 469.3K | 153 |
| LA | $24.50 | $861.6K | 35.2K | 11 |
| TN | $24.50 | $270.4K | 11.0K | 27 |
| MO | $24.50 | $268.7K | 11.0K | 6 |
| OK | $24.50 | $252.5K | 10.3K | 12 |
| NV | $24.50 | $246.6K | 10.1K | 6 |
| DE | $24.50 | $221.7K | 9.1K | 4 |
| CO | $24.50 | $153.2K | 6.3K | 8 |
| MA | $24.50 | $123.0K | 5.0K | 45 |
| MS | $24.50 | $111.3K | 4.5K | 7 |
| KS | $24.50 | $107.5K | 4.4K | 6 |
| IN | $24.50 | $92.6K | 3.8K | 8 |
| CT | $24.50 | $54.1K | 2.2K | 6 |
| AR | $24.50 | $39.2K | 1.6K | 4 |
| ME | $24.50 | $24.8K | 1.0K | 2 |
| NM | $24.50 | $13.1K | 535 | 4 |
| RI | $24.50 | $9.6K | 392 | 2 |
| WV | $24.50 | $3.6K | 148 | 1 |
| PA | $24.50 | $617.2K | 25.2K | 25 |
| SC | $24.50 | $344.4K | 14.1K | 8 |
| NY | $24.50 | $1.5M | 59.6K | 130 |
| IL | $24.50 | $8.7M | 355.6K | 101 |
| MI | $24.50 | $175.7K | 7.2K | 30 |
| NC | $24.50 | $2.4M | 96.8K | 15 |
| NJ | $24.49 | $3.2M | 129.8K | 90 |
| AZ | $24.49 | $395.8K | 16.2K | 11 |
| AL | $24.49 | $328.3K | 13.4K | 15 |
| OH | $24.49 | $239.9K | 9.8K | 15 |
| OR | $24.49 | $170.8K | 7.0K | 18 |
| HI | $24.49 | $33.0K | 1.3K | 2 |
| FL | $24.48 | $727.2K | 29.7K | 64 |
| MD | $24.48 | $347.4K | 14.2K | 35 |
| TX | $24.48 | $1.5M | 60.0K | 66 |
| KY | $24.48 | $164.2K | 6.7K | 14 |
| UT | $24.47 | $103.5K | 4.2K | 5 |
| WA | $24.44 | $202.1K | 8.3K | 41 |
| NH | $24.43 | $8.7K | 355 | 4 |
| IA | $24.37 | $9.4K | 385 | 3 |
| WI | $24.33 | $208.0K | 8.5K | 10 |
| NE | $24.31 | $6.1K | 252 | 1 |
| MN | $24.03 | $71.3K | 3.0K | 22 |
| Provider | Specialty | State | Payments | Services | Avg/Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sinai Laboratory Corp | Clinical Laboratory | IL | $2.2M | 91.0K | $24.50 |
| West Coast Medical Labs Inc | Clinical Laboratory | CA | $1.6M | 64.6K | $24.50 |
| Alpha Diagnostics, Llc | Clinical Laboratory | NC | $1.4M | 59.1K | $24.50 |
| Fz Medical Group Inc | Clinical Laboratory | IL | $1.4M | 57.0K | $24.50 |
| Shoreline Diagnostics Llc | Clinical Laboratory | CA | $1.2M | 47.0K | $24.50 |
| Pacific Medical Labs | Clinical Laboratory | CA | $1.1M | 43.3K | $24.50 |
| Clarity Testing Services | Clinical Laboratory | IL | $821.6K | 33.5K | $24.50 |
| Optimalab Inc | Clinical Laboratory | IL | $687.8K | 28.1K | $24.50 |
| Pasteur Inc | Clinical Laboratory | CA | $591.1K | 24.1K | $24.50 |
| Cormeum Lab Services Llc | Clinical Laboratory | LA | $517.8K | 21.1K | $24.50 |
| Prime Lab, Inc. | Clinical Laboratory | CA | $471.3K | 19.2K | $24.50 |
| Genentox Laboratories Llc | Clinical Laboratory | CA | $454.7K | 18.6K | $24.51 |
| Simple Laboratories Llc | Clinical Laboratory | IL | $434.9K | 17.8K | $24.50 |
| Discover Labs Llc | Clinical Laboratory | TX | $404.2K | 16.5K | $24.50 |
| Centers Lab Nj Llc | Clinical Laboratory | NJ | $400.7K | 16.4K | $24.50 |
| Avellino Lab Usa, Inc. | Clinical Laboratory | CA | $397.5K | 16.2K | $24.50 |
| Laboratory Corporation Of America Holdings | Clinical Laboratory | NJ | $378.1K | 15.5K | $24.47 |
| Med Rush Clinical Lab Inc | Clinical Laboratory | IL | $376.9K | 15.4K | $24.50 |
| Laboratory Corporation Of America Holdings | Clinical Laboratory | NC | $369.7K | 15.1K | $24.47 |
| Quest Diagnostics Incorporated | Clinical Laboratory | NJ | $352.4K | 14.4K | $24.50 |
Based on the data, CPT U0005 shows a 1.0x variation in pricing across states — relatively consistent by Medicare standards.
Costs have decreased 1.6% since 2021. 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.