HCPCS code G0123: Pap cytology, cytotechnologist-screened thin layer2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
G0123 reports cytotechnologist screening of collected cervical or vaginal cells prepared by an automated thin-layer method for screening cytopathology.
Medicare pays $20.26 for G0123 under the 2026 Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule: one national amount, the same in every state and setting.
Medicare lab fee · CLFS 2026 Q4
National CLFS amount
$20.26
In effect since Jan 1, 2026. The same amount in every state, payment locality and setting.
- Geographic adjustment
- None
- Office vs facility
- Same
- Since 2020
- Unchanged
- CMS updates
- Quarterly
Medicare pays the lesser of the lab’s charge and this amount. Patients usually owe no Part B deductible or coinsurance for covered clinical lab tests.
On this page 8 sections
What G0123 covers
G0123 covers screening cytopathology of collected cervical or vaginal cells prepared from a preservative-fluid specimen using an automated thin-layer method. A cytotechnologist screens the preparation under physician supervision. Laboratories report this service for cervical screening cytology, commonly called Pap testing. The code represents cytology screening, not a screening pelvic and breast examination.
Report G0123 for cytotechnologist screening; G0124 identifies physician screening of cervical or vaginal cytology. Medicare pays G0123 through the CLFS at one national amount, with the same payment across states and localities and no office-versus-facility difference. The 2026 national CLFS amount is $20.26, unchanged from 2020 through 2026. G0123 is excluded from the physician fee schedule and paid through the CLFS.
This summary was written with AI assistance from CMS Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule data. Amounts on this page come directly from CMS files.
How Medicare pays G0123
Clinical lab tests aren’t priced like physician services. They’re paid from their own fee schedule, with its own rules. See the whole lab fee schedule.
One national amount
CMS sets a single Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule amount for G0123. There’s no geographic (GPCI) adjustment, so it pays the same in every state and payment locality.
No office or facility rate
Lab tests aren’t built from relative value units, so there’s no office and facility split: the place of service doesn’t change the CLFS amount.
Updated every quarter
CMS republishes the CLFS each quarter. New tests, often proprietary laboratory analyses (PLA codes), join during the year; existing amounts are updated each January.
Excluded from the physician fee schedule
The physician fee schedule lists G0123 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
G0123 on the lab fee schedule since 2020
G0123 · CLFS 2026 Q4 (current)
$20.26
Unchanged since Jan 1, 2020
27 quarterly CLFS releases on file, first CLFS 2020 Q1. A code missing from a quarter wasn’t on that release.
G0123 compared with similar tests
- G0124Pap interpretationPhysician-read thin-layer specimen$21.72–$31.60
- G0123 represents cytotechnologist screening under physician supervision; G0124 represents physician screening of the cervical or vaginal cytology.
- G0141Cytology screeningAutomated screening, manual rescreening$21.72–$31.60
- G0141 identifies cervical or vaginal screening cytology involving an automated system and physician screening. G0123 identifies cytotechnologist screening of a collected thin-layer specimen.
- G0143Pap screeningManual screen and rescreen$27.05
- G0143 identifies related thin-layer cervical or vaginal cytology rescreening. G0123 reports cytotechnologist screening of the collected specimen.
G0123 billing questions
When should I report G0123 instead of G0124?
G0123 represents cytotechnologist screening of the collected cervical or vaginal cytology specimen. G0124 represents physician screening.
Does G0123 describe an HPV test or pelvic examination?
No. G0123 reports cervical or vaginal cell cytology, not HPV testing. G0101 describes a screening pelvic and breast examination.
Which code represents physician screening?
G0124 identifies physician screening of cervical or vaginal cytology; G0123 identifies cytotechnologist screening under physician supervision.
How is G0123 paid by Medicare?
Medicare pays G0123 under the CLFS at one national amount, regardless of locality or office-versus-facility setting.
Should G0123 be used for a cytology rescreen?
G0123 describes cytotechnologist screening. G0143 identifies a related thin-layer cervical or vaginal cytology rescreening service.
Where this amount comes from
FeeBase reads lab amounts directly from the CMS Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule file for the quarter: one row per code, with its payment indicator and national amount. Contractor-priced tests are labeled, never given a made-up amount. Amounts are Medicare payment limits, not a patient’s bill or a commercial rate.
CMS CLFS 2026 Q4 · effective Oct 1, 2026 through the day before Jan 1, 2027
Show the CMS file line behind this amount
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