Revenue code 0300
Laboratory (general)
The hospital's laboratory line. On an itemized bill it breaks into individual tests, each with its own CPT code (80053 for a metabolic panel, 85025 for a blood count, and so on). The summary total under 0300 is only as good as the tests inside it.
Where this line goes wrong
Panel plus component
A panel code already includes its component tests. A comprehensive metabolic panel (80053) plus a basic metabolic panel (80048) on the same draw, or a panel plus one of its own components billed separately, is double billing that coding rules prohibit.
Draw fees stack
The blood draw itself (36415) is billable once per visit, not once per tube or once per test.
Tests that were never resulted
Ask for the lab report. A test that was billed but has no result was either cancelled or never run, and either way should come off.
Want to know if this line is right on your own bill? Upload it to a free mediloop account. An automatic first look reads the charges and shows what looks worth questioning, usually in about a minute.
Check my bill for freeCheck it, then ask
- 1
Ask for the itemized bill and the lab results and match each billed test to a result.
- 2
Check for panels billed alongside their own components.
- 3
Count the venipuncture (36415) lines; one per visit is the norm.
The full walkthrough for this kind of bill: Your bill came in above the estimate.
Upload the bill to a free mediloop account. An automatic first look reads the charges and shows what looks worth questioning, usually in about a minute. If you want a specialist to dispute it for you, it is a flat $129, refunded in full if the bill isn't lowered by at least $129.
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People also ask
Why is a blood test so expensive at a hospital?
Hospital lab charges are set from the chargemaster and are often many times what an independent lab charges for the same test. If you are self-pay, the cash price for the test is the number to ask for.
Sources
- CMS, National Correct Coding Initiative policy manual
- CMS, Medicare Claims Processing Manual, chapter 25 (UB-04 form locators and revenue codes)
This page explains a billing code in general terms. It is not a coding, legal or medical opinion about your bill, and the code descriptions are mediloop's own plain-English summaries, not the official CPT descriptors, which are owned by the American Medical Association. Whether a charge was correct depends on the record of your visit and your payer's rules.