CPT 81400: Molecular Pathology Tier 2, Level 1 Technical Test
Commercial payers pay $61 on average nationally for this procedure.
CPT code 81400 describes a molecular pathology Tier 2, Level 1 service in which a laboratory analyst performs the technical component of a specified genetic test to complete one of the listed genetic analyses; the service is a laboratory molecular diagnostic procedure typically performed in a clinical laboratory or molecular diagnostics lab and billed as the technical portion of the assay.
Customize your policy alerts
Sign up for cpt 81400 policy alerts
Get alerted when payer policies referencing 81400 are released or updated.
Monitor payer policy activity
National Reimbursement Benchmarks
National commercial reimbursement for CPT 81400 centers around BUCA’s average commercial rate of $60.6, with major carriers showing notable variation from that midpoint. Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) and Cigna exhibit higher mean rates ($66.7 and $67.5 respectively) and sizeable upper tails, while Aetna and UnitedHealth Group sit lower on average ($45.1 and $51.0). Blue Cross Blue Shield has the highest single observed rate ($181.3) and Cigna the next highest ($193.5), indicating outliers above BUCA’s average.
Dispersion measured as P75–P25 highlights which payers are tightest or widest: Blue Cross Blue Shield’s interquartile spread is $28.1 ($76.4−$46.3), Cigna’s spread is $58.0 ($91.9−$32.9), UnitedHealth Group’s spread is $37.1 ($64.0−$26.9), Aetna’s spread is $34.8 ($62.0−$27.2), and BUCA’s spread is $38.9 ($74.5−$37.6). Cigna shows the widest IQR and thus the greatest middle-range variability, while BCBS presents the tightest middle distribution.