88142
No office rateCytopath c/v thin layer
88142 describes a cervical or vaginal cytology service involving thin-layer preparation and screening. 88141 represents the physician’s distinct interpretation and report.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
88141 Pap interpretation Medicare reimbursement rates in Pennsylvania
Reports a physician’s interpretation of cervical or vaginal cytology slides when a distinct interpretive review and report are performed. Compare 88141 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Pennsylvania.
Amounts below use the non-QP conversion factor for participating physicians. These are base physician payments before claim-level adjustments, not patient costs or total hospital charges.
What does Medicare pay for 88141 in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania has 2 payment localities in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the 2 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
$22.77–$24.89
2 of 2 localities have a supported rate.
Facility setting
$22.77–$24.89
2 of 2 localities have a supported rate.
These are locality ranges, not averages or address-specific quotes. A facility-setting amount covers the physician service; it does not include a hospital’s separate bill. Choose a locality below to inspect its calculation, compare other payment areas, or price a percentage of Medicare.
Cytopathology
About 88141: Cervical or vaginal cytology interpretation
Reports a physician’s interpretation of cervical or vaginal cytology slides when a distinct interpretive review and report are performed.
A cytopathologist or other qualified physician reviews cervical or vaginal cytology slides and documents an interpretation in a report. The service may follow laboratory screening that identifies atypical or abnormal findings, or be performed when a clinician requests physician-level review. It is generally performed in a cytology laboratory supporting office, hospital, or other clinical testing settings.
Report 88141 for the physician’s interpretive work and report, not for specimen collection, slide preparation, or screening alone. Documentation should identify the material reviewed, the interpretive findings, and the physician’s report. CMS classifies this as a professional-component-only code; a separate code covers the technical portion of the cytology service. It may be reported with an applicable cervical or vaginal cytology screening service when the physician interpretation is separately performed and documented.
CMS billing rules for 88141
- Professional and technical components
- Professional-component-only code: interpretation and report; a separate code covers the technical portion.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU0.25 · 35%
- Practice expense (office) RVU0.46 · 64%
- Malpractice RVU0.01 · 1%
37.2K
Medicare services in 2024 · #897 by national volume
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.
88141 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Pennsylvania, from the same CMS release.
88147
No office rateCytopath c/v automated
88147 is for automated screening of cervical or vaginal cytology. Use 88141 for a separately performed physician interpretation and report, not for automated screening itself.
88148
No office rateCytopath c/v auto rescreen
88148 identifies automated cervical or vaginal cytology screening with physician interpretation in its service. 88141 is the professional interpretation-and-report code.
88150
No office rateCytopath c/v manual
88150 describes manual cervical or vaginal cytology screening. 88141 represents the physician’s interpretive report, rather than the manual screening service.
Compare 88141 by payment locality
Find the payment area for your service address, then open its rate page for calculation inputs, release history and the percentage-of-Medicare tool. A city may cross payment-area boundaries; the ZIP lookup above helps resolve the location.
2 of 2 payment localities
Metropolitan Philadelphia →
Office / nonfacility
$24.89
Facility
$24.89
Rest Of Pennsylvania →
Office / nonfacility
$22.77
Facility
$22.77
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88141 billing questions
Is 88141 reported for every Pap test?
No. Report it when a physician performs and documents the distinct interpretation and report represented by this code; it is not automatic for every cervical or vaginal cytology specimen.
Can 88141 be reported with a cervical cytology screening code?
It may be reported with an applicable cervical or vaginal cytology service when the physician separately performs the interpretive review and report. The record should support both the screening service and the interpretation.
Does 88141 include slide preparation or screening?
No. It represents the professional interpretation and report. The technical portion, such as slide preparation or screening, is covered by a separate code.
Does 88141 need modifier 26?
CMS identifies 88141 itself as professional-component-only, so the code represents interpretation and report rather than a global technical-and-professional service.
What documentation supports 88141?
Document the cervical or vaginal cytology material reviewed, the physician’s interpretive findings, and the resulting report. The record should show that the physician actually performed the interpretive service.
Where these rates come from
FeeBase calculates base physician payments from CMS work, practice-expense, and malpractice RVUs, adjusted by each locality’s geographic indices and the applicable conversion factor. Unavailable or separately priced services are labeled rather than assigned a made-up amount.
Source: RVU26D. Effective 2026-10-01 through the day before 2027-01-01.
11,12388125,TC,Forensic cytopathology,A,,0.00,0.44,,0.44,NA,0.01,0.45,0.45,1,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
11,12488130,,Sex chromatin identification,X,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,9,9,9,9,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
11,12588140,,Sex chromatin identification,X,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,9,9,9,9,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
11,12688141,,Cytopath c/v interpret,A,,0.25,0.46,,0.46,,0.01,0.72,0.72,2,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
11,12788142,,Cytopath c/v thin layer,X,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,9,9,9,9,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
11,12888143,,Cytopath c/v thin layer redo,X,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,9,9,9,9,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
11,12988147,,Cytopath c/v automated,X,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,9,9,9,9,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00