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CPT 82040: Quantitative Albumin Measurement in Blood
Headline: CPT code 82040 defines a standard laboratory measurement of albumin in blood, widely used in clinical management of hepatic, renal, and nutritional conditions.
Lead: CPT code 82040 represents a quantitative laboratory assay for albumin performed on serum, plasma, or whole blood. The test is a common component of metabolic and hepatic evaluations and carries national relevance for clinical decision-making and laboratory billing practices.
What the code represents and why it matters: CPT code 82040 identifies a discrete, measurable laboratory service for albumin concentration. Albumin levels inform diagnoses such as hypoalbuminemia, guide evaluation of liver and kidney disease, and are commonly included in hepatic function panels. Clear coding ensures appropriate processing of laboratory claims and supports population-level monitoring of metabolic and hepatic health.
Key payers covered: Analysis includes national private and public payers: Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare.
What readers will learn: The publication outlines clinical context for CPT code 82040, typical sites of service, commonly associated diagnoses, and relationships to related laboratory panels such as hepatic function testing. It also summarizes billing considerations and common procedural grouping for laboratory services. Policy updates, reimbursement benchmarks, and coding guidance relevant to laboratory claims for albumin measurement are presented for a national audience.
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Billing Code Overview
CPT code 82040 describes a quantitative measurement of albumin performed on a serum, plasma, or whole blood specimen. This is a laboratory service that generates a numeric concentration of albumin, often reported in grams per deciliter, and is used in clinical assessment of nutritional status, liver function, and fluid balance.
Service Type: Clinical laboratory test (quantitative albumin measurement)
Typical Site of Service: Clinical laboratory or hospital outpatient laboratory, with specimens collected in a phlebotomy or ambulatory collection setting.
National Reimbursement Benchmarks
The national commercial average represented by BUCA sits at $10.4 for CPT 82040, framing the market midline while individual payer patterns vary. Blue Cross Blue Shield shows a relatively wide spread between its 25th and 75th percentiles ($7.40 to $16.90), a P75–P25 range of $9.50, and Aetna presents an even broader dispersion from $3.00 to $6.90 (range $3.90) but with extreme outliers up to $514.90. Cigna and UnitedHealth Group exhibit tighter interquartile spreads—Cigna’s P25–P75 runs $3.30 to $7.10 (range $3.80) and UnitedHealth Group’s $2.10 to $5.00 (range $2.90)—indicating more consistent negotiated commercial rates.
Comparatively, Blue Cross Blue Shield and Aetna demonstrate the widest variability in the middle 50% of their commercial reimbursements, while UnitedHealth Group and Cigna are the tightest. BUCA’s mean of $10.4 functions as a practical market benchmark against which those payer dispersions can be viewed; payers with narrow interquartile ranges suggest greater pricing consistency, while wider ranges point to greater regional or contractual variability.