CPT code 99000: Specimen handling, office-to-lab transfer2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Missouri
Office staff prepare and route a collected specimen to a laboratory; Medicare classifies this specimen-handling service as bundled.
CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for 99000 in Missouri.
Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.
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On this page 9 sections
What 99000 covers
99000 covers office-side preparation and conveyance of a specimen for transfer to a laboratory. Physician offices and clinics report it when they handle and send a collected specimen; it concerns specimen handling and transport, not laboratory analysis. Blood collection is a distinct service and may be reported separately with the applicable collection code, such as 36415 for venous blood collection. The code covers the office's handling step rather than the laboratory's testing work.
Medicare assigns 99000 physician fee schedule status B: it is never paid separately, because payment is included in payment for other services. The code does not identify a specimen type or laboratory assay. Documentation should connect the handling and transfer to the specimen and associated service or test.
This summary was written with AI assistance from CMS physician fee schedule data and checked against the CMS billing rules shown here. Rates on this page come directly from CMS files.
Where 99000 pays more and less in Missouri
The same RVUs, adjusted for each area’s costs. Open a locality for its calculation, history and nearby areas.
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Metropolitan Kansas City, MO | Unavailable | Unavailable |
| Metropolitan St. Louis, MO | Unavailable | Unavailable |
| Rest of Missouri | Unavailable | Unavailable |
How the 99000 rate is calculated
Each of 99000’s three RVUs is multiplied by a geographic index (GPCI) for the payment locality, added up, and multiplied by the conversion factor. Drag the indexes or enter a ZIP to see what moves the rate.
How the rate is built · 99000
RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor
Work0.00
0.00 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Practice expense0.00
0.00 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Malpractice0.00
0.00 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Adjusted RVUs
0.0000
Conversion factor
$33.4009
Medicare rate
$0.00
Every GPCI starts at 1.000, the national rate. Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.
Payment rules and modifiers for 99000
99000 has no global surgery period, no multiple-procedure, bilateral or assistant-at-surgery adjustment, and no professional/technical split. What changes the payment is where the service happens: the place of service on the claim decides whether Medicare pays the office or the facility rate.
Place of service · 99000
Which rate does Medicare pay?
The POS code on the claim line (CMS-1500 box 24B).
POS 11 · non-facility rate · national
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99000 isn’t priced in this setting.
99000 compared with similar codes
Compare codes · National
99000 vs 99001 vs 36415: Medicare rates
How to choose
- 99001Specimen handlingPatient to laboratory
- 99000 concerns transfer from the physician's office; 99001 applies when the specimen originates outside the physician's office.
- 36415VenipunctureRoutine venous sample
- 36415 reports venous blood collection. 99000 concerns subsequent office handling and transfer of a specimen to a laboratory.
99000 billing questions
When should the office use 99000 instead of 99001?
Use 99000 for handling and transfer of a specimen from the physician's office. 99001 addresses a specimen originating outside the physician's office.
Does 99000 include specimen collection?
No. It describes handling and transfer, not collection. Venous blood collection is distinct and may be reported with 36415 when appropriate.
Can a modifier make 99000 separately payable by Medicare?
No. Medicare status B means the code is never paid separately; its payment is included in payment for other services.
How many units should the office report?
99000 covers specimen handling and conveyance. Medicare never pays it separately under status B.
What should the record show?
Document the specimen handled and its transfer from the physician's office to a laboratory. Keep this distinct from any collection or laboratory testing performed.
Where these rates come from
FeeBase calculates base physician payments from CMS work, practice-expense and malpractice RVUs, adjusted by each locality’s geographic indexes and the conversion factor. Services without a published rate are labeled, never given a made-up amount. Amounts are Medicare allowed amounts before claim adjustments: not a patient’s bill or a commercial rate.
CMS RVU26D · effective Oct 1, 2026 through the day before Jan 1, 2027
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