CPT 85046

Across 67,958 services billed by 594 providers to 45,597 beneficiaries, Medicare allowed an average of $5.44 per service. That is 1.5 services per beneficiary, so this is a code patients typically receive more than once. The allowed amount is the figure that matters: it is what Medicare and the patient together owe, set by the fee schedule and adjusted for local practice costs. What a provider chose to submit has no bearing on it.

Two different numbers. Allowed is what Medicare actually allowed in that state, which includes the local practice-cost adjustment. Standardized strips that geographic adjustment out of the payment, so it is the column to use when comparing states — a difference there reflects how the code was billed, not what it costs to run a practice locally.

• 85025Complete blood cell count (red cells$7.59
• 85027Complete blood cell count (red cells$6.33
• 85045Red blood count$3.90
• 85018Blood count, hemoglobin$2.31
• 85014Red blood cell concentration measurement$2.31
• 85007Microscopic examination for white blood cells$3.71
• 85060Blood smear interpretation by physician$23.02
• 85097Bone marrow, smear interpretation$51.39
• 85044Red blood count$4.21
• 85055Reticulated (young) platelet measurement$34.89
• 85048Automated white blood cell count$2.47
• 85049Platelet count$4.37

An allowed amount is revenue to a practice, not income to a clinician. It funds staff, premises, equipment and supplies before anyone is paid. What clinicians actually earn is published separately by the Department of Labor, and what industry pays them is published separately again by CMS — this site carries both.

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