Summary & Overview
CPT 0024U: GlycA Glycosylated Acute Phase Protein Assay
CPT code 0024U designates a Proprietary Laboratory Analyses (PLA) test: the GlycA assay for glycosylated acute phase proteins, a blood-based measure of systemic inflammation developed by Laboratory Corporation of America. As a PLA code, 0024U identifies a single manufacturer-specific test and supports clear claims and tracking for this proprietary diagnostic. Nationally, PLA codes matter because they enable distinct coding for novel laboratory diagnostics that do not fit existing analyte codes, facilitating coverage determinations, utilization monitoring, and price transparency for emerging tests.
Key payers covered in this analysis include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find an overview of clinical context for GlycA testing, common sites of service and service type, and what to expect in payer engagement for a proprietary laboratory assay. The publication summarizes benchmark considerations, common billing modifiers, and practical coding notes relevant to billing and claims submission for 0024U. It also outlines where data were available and notes areas where specific payer policy details or utilization benchmarks are not provided. This national-level summary is intended for billing managers, laboratory administrators, and policy analysts seeking concise information on the coding and clinical role of the GlycA PLA test.
Billing Code Overview
CPT code 0024U is a Proprietary Laboratory Analyses (PLA) code that describes a single, manufacturer-specific laboratory test: the GlycA assay for glycosylated acute phase proteins, a biomarker of systemic inflammation, developed by Laboratory Corporation of America. The service type is laboratory diagnostic testing using a proprietary assay. The typical site of service is a clinical laboratory or reference laboratory setting where blood-based biomarker testing is processed.
Clinical & Coding Specifications
Clinical Context
A 58-year-old patient with longstanding rheumatoid arthritis presents to a rheumatology clinic for assessment of systemic inflammation and cardiovascular risk stratification. The clinician orders the GlycA assay (0024U) as part of a laboratory panel to quantify glycosylated acute phase proteins and provide an integrated measure of chronic systemic inflammation. The typical workflow: patient presents at an outpatient ambulatory clinic or hospital outpatient laboratory for a venipuncture; blood specimen is labeled and sent to Laboratory Corporation of America (LabCorp) for proprietary GlycA analysis under PLA code 0024U. Results are returned to the ordering clinician and used alongside clinical assessment, CRP, ESR, lipid panel, and disease activity scores to inform monitoring of inflammatory disease activity and long-term risk management. Typical sites of service include outpatient physician offices, ambulatory care clinics, and hospital outpatient laboratories. Specimen handling follows standard venipuncture and laboratory transport protocols for proprietary assays performed by a reference laboratory.
Coding Specifications
| Modifier | Description | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
00 | No modifier; standard service | Use when no special circumstance applies to the billed test |
11 | Return to provider; diagnostic service furnished personally by the ordering provider | Use when the ordering provider also personally performs the professional component (rare for lab PLAs) |
26 | Professional component | Use when billing only the professional component of a service (interpretation) if applicable |
52 | Reduced services | Use when the test is partially performed or limited in scope compared to the full service |
53 | Discontinued procedure | Use when the specimen collection or testing was started but discontinued for documented clinical reasons |
54 | Surgical care only | Generally not applicable to lab tests but included when testing is related to a surgical episode billed separately |
55 | Postoperative management only | Rare for standalone lab PLA; used when postoperative services are billed separately |
62 | Two surgeons | Not typical for lab testing; included for completeness when multiple providers share responsibility in a case involving testing decisions |
78 | Unplanned return to the operating/procedure room by the same physician following initial procedure | Not typical for lab testing; used only if testing occurs in context of such an event |
80 | Assistant surgeon | Not applicable to lab testing; included when an assistant surgeon is billed in related surgical workflow |
QK | Medical direction of two, three, or four CRNAs by a physician | Use when anesthesia services are billed in the same episode and medical direction is provided |
QX | CRNA service: CRNA with medical direction by physician | Use when CRNA services are billed in related care episodes |
QY | Attending anesthesiologist supervises CRNA | Use in related anesthesia billing scenarios |
TC | Technical component | Use when billing only the technical component (laboratory performs test and bills technical component) |
SH | Hearing and balance HCPCS modifier for certain services | Rarely applicable; included when hearing/balance testing is part of the evaluation alongside inflammatory testing |
| Taxonomy Code | Specialty | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 207RH0000X | Rheumatology | Ordering clinicians who manage systemic inflammatory disorders frequently order GlycA testing |
| 207L00000X | Allergy & Immunology | Specialists evaluating chronic inflammatory or autoimmune conditions may order GlycA |
| 207Q00000X | Cardiology | Cardiologists may use GlycA as part of cardiovascular risk assessment related to inflammation |
| 208000000X | Family Medicine | Primary care physicians commonly order inflammatory biomarker testing for chronic disease management |
| 261QM0800X | Clinical Pathology | Laboratory medicine specialists and pathologists oversee specimen processing and result interpretation |
Related Diagnoses
| ICD-10 Code | Description | Clinical Relevance |
|---|---|---|
M05.9 | Rheumatoid arthritis with rheumatoid factor, unspecified | Chronic inflammatory arthritis where GlycA can reflect systemic inflammatory burden |
M06.9 | Rheumatoid arthritis, unspecified | Used in patients with RA to monitor inflammation alongside traditional markers |
E78.5 | Hyperlipidemia, unspecified | GlycA is used with lipid testing for inflammation-associated cardiovascular risk assessment |
I10 | Essential (primary) hypertension | Common comorbidity; GlycA may contribute to overall cardiovascular risk profiling |
M13.9 | Arthropathy, unspecified | Non-specific joint disease where inflammatory biomarkers can assist in evaluation |
M32.9 | Systemic lupus erythematosus, unspecified | Systemic autoimmune disease where GlycA may help quantify systemic inflammation |
R79.89 | Other specified abnormal findings of blood chemistry | Use when abnormal inflammatory biomarkers prompt further proprietary testing such as GlycA |
Related CPT Codes
| CPT Code | Description | Relationship to This Procedure |
|---|---|---|
80053 | Comprehensive metabolic panel | Frequently ordered concurrently to assess organ function and metabolic status when evaluating systemic inflammation |
80061 | Lipid panel | Ordered alongside GlycA for cardiovascular risk stratification influenced by systemic inflammation |
84443 | Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) | Commonly ordered in systemic disease evaluations to assess endocrine contributors to symptoms |
86140 | C-reactive protein (CRP), quantitative | Standard inflammation marker often ordered with GlycA to compare inflammatory activity measures |
85652 | Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) | Traditional acute phase reactant used in conjunction with GlycA for inflammatory disease monitoring |