Summary & Overview
CPT 82607: Quantitative Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin) Assay
CPT code 82607 designates a quantitative laboratory assay for vitamin B12 (cobalamin) in a patient specimen, most commonly serum or plasma. Nationally, vitamin B12 testing is an important diagnostic and monitoring tool for hematologic, neurologic and nutritional evaluations; it influences care pathways for patients with anemia, neuropathy, malabsorption or after bariatric surgery. Coverage and reimbursement for 82607 affect access to laboratory diagnostics across outpatient, hospital, and reference laboratory settings.
Key payers discussed include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. The publication provides a concise national overview of payer coverage patterns, typical sites of service, and clinical context for ordering the test. Readers will find benchmarks for utilization and reimbursement framed in the context of clinical indications, a summary of common billing considerations, and links between test use and care pathways. Where specific payer policy details are not available in the input, the report indicates that data are not available in the input.
This analysis is intended to clarify what CPT code 82607 represents, where it is commonly performed, and what stakeholders can expect when encountering the code in claims or clinical workflows.
Billing Code Overview
CPT code 82607 reports a laboratory measurement of vitamin B12 (cobalamin) concentration in a patient specimen, typically performed on blood. This test quantifies circulating vitamin B12 to assist in the evaluation of suspected deficiency, monitoring of replacement therapy, or investigation of hematologic or neurologic symptoms.
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Service type: Clinical laboratory test — quantitative serum or plasma vitamin B12 assay
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Typical site of service: Clinical laboratory, hospital laboratory, outpatient phlebotomy site, or reference laboratory
Clinical & Coding Specifications
Clinical Context
A typical patient is an adult presenting to an outpatient primary care clinic with fatigue, pallor, neuropathic symptoms (numbness/tingling), or macrocytic anemia on a complete blood count. The clinician obtains a venous blood specimen and orders a serum vitamin B12 level (82607) to quantify circulating cobalamin. The sample is sent to the clinical laboratory where a medical technologist/clinical chemist performs the assay and reports numeric results with reference ranges. Results are reviewed by the ordering provider to determine whether deficiency, insufficiency, or normal levels are present and to guide further evaluation (for example, testing for methylmalonic acid, homocysteine, or intrinsic factor antibodies) or treatment (oral or parenteral cobalamin). Typical site of service is an outpatient clinic, physician office, or independent clinical laboratory; inpatient hospital settings and emergency departments also commonly obtain this test when indicated.
Coding Specifications
| Modifier | Description | When to Use |
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26 | Professional component | Use when billing only the professional interpretation/overread portion if the lab splits technical and professional components and the professional component is billed separately. |