March 18, 2014
Laboratory Services: Medical Necessity and National Coverage Determinations (NCDs)
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) created 23 National Coverage Determinations (NCDs) for specific clinical laboratory tests, including the tests listed above. Whereas most NCDs describe covered indications and limitations in narrative form, laboratory NCDs list specific ICD-10 codes that fall into 3 categories:
- Covered ICD-10 codes
- Non-covered ICD-10 codes
- Codes that do not support medical necessity
Before Submitting Claims
- Refer to the ICD-10 code lists for the applicable NCD.
- Download the ICD-10 code lists for each NCD from the CMS website: under Downloads, select Lab Code List.
- If the patient's condition is on the non-covered list or list of codes that do not support medical necessity, you may consider asking the patient to sign an Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage (ABN).
- Refer to the CGS Modifier Tool, HCPCS modifier GA, for more information, and to the CMS resources in the Reference section of this article for further guidance on issuing these notices.
- Remember to double-check medical records to ensure that valid orders and signatures are present.
Current list of Lab NCDs: Alphabetical
NCD# | Title |
---|---|
190.25 | Alpha-fetoprotein |
190.15 | Blood Counts |
190.20 | Blood Glucose Testing |
190.26 | Carcinoembryonic Antigen |
190.19 | Collagen Crosslinks, Any Method |
190.24 | Digoxin Therapeutic Drug Assay |
190.34 | Fecal Occult Blood Test |
190.32 | Gamma Glutamyl Transferase |
190.21 | Glycated Hemoglobin/Glycated Protein |
190.33 | Hepatitis Panel/Acute Hepatitis Panel |
190.27 | Human Chorionic Gonadotropin |
190.14 | Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Testing (Diagnosis) |
190.13 | Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Testing (Prognosis Including Monitoring) |
190.23 | Lipid Testing |
190.16 | Partial Thromboplastin Time (PTT) |
190.31 | Prostate Specific Antigen |
190.17 | Prothrombin Time (PT) |
190.18 | Serum Iron Studies |
190.22 | Thyroid Testing |
190.28 | Tumor Antigen by Immunoassay (CA 125) |
190.29 | Tumor Antigen by Immunoassay (CA 15-3/CA 27.29) |
190.30 | Tumor Antigen by Immunoassay (CA 19-9) |
190.12 | Urine Culture, Bacterial |
Reference:
- CMS Lab NCD Web page
- CMS Beneficiary Notices Initiative (BNI) Web page
- Additional guidance: Medicare Claims Processing Manual (Pub. 100-04), chapter 30, section 50
- Prohibition on issuing "routine notices" and "blanket notices": section 40.2.2
- Beneficiary's refusal to sign ABN: section 50.6
- Guidance for repetitive services: section 50.8
- CMS Medicare Learning Network publication, "Medicare Advance Written Notices of Non-coverage"
Reviewed: 12.15.22