CPT 87186

Across 2,718,641 services billed by 2,406 providers to 1,532,287 beneficiaries, Medicare allowed an average of $8.47 per service. That is 1.8 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.

• 87150Identification of organisms by genetic analysis$34.30
• 87177Smear for parasites$8.69
• 87184Evaluation of antimicrobial drug (antibiotic$7.32
• 87147Identification of organisms by immunologic analysis$5.08
• 87101Fungal culture (mold or yeast) of skin$7.56
• 87102Fungal culture (mold or yeast)$8.23
• 87116Culture for acid-fast bacilli$10.56
• 87106Fungal culture$10.10
• 87181Evaluation of antimicrobial drug (antibiotic$4.63
• 87107Culture for identification of yeast$10.11
• 87185Detection of antimicrobial drug (antibiotic$4.65
• 87118Identification of mycobacteria (tb or tb like organism)$14.31

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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