Summary & Overview
HCPCS Level II G9920: Screening Performed, Negative
HCPCS Level II code G9920 denotes a screening service that was performed and yielded a negative result. Nationally, screening codes like G9920 matter because they document preventive or diagnostic activities, support quality measurement, and affect claims adjudication and reporting workflows. This code is relevant across public and private payers and is commonly used in outpatient and ambulatory care settings.
Key payers covered in this analysis include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find a concise overview of the code’s clinical meaning, common payer handling, and typical sites of service. The publication summarizes benchmarks where available, clarifies billing context for screening encounters coded as negative, and outlines policy or coding guidance updates when present.
The report is intended to help coding professionals, billing managers, and policy analysts understand how G9920 is used in claims, what to expect from major payers, and where to look for related documentation and coding considerations. Data not available in the input will be identified as such within specific sections.
Billing Code Overview
HCPCS Level II code G9920 describes a screening performed with a negative result. The service type is screening, a diagnostic or preventive clinical evaluation intended to identify absence of disease or condition. The typical site of service for this screening is outpatient or ambulatory clinical settings where preventive or screening services are delivered, such as physician offices, community clinics, or outpatient screening centers.
Data not available in the input.
Clinical & Coding Specifications
Clinical Context
A typical patient is an adult presenting to an outpatient primary care clinic or community screening site for preventive health services. The patient has no symptoms and is undergoing an evidence-based screening test (for example, depression screening with the PHQ-9, tobacco-use screening, alcohol-use screening with AUDIT-C, or fall-risk screening) during a routine visit. The clinician or trained staff administers the validated screening instrument, documents the screening result as negative, and records counseling or follow-up plans only if indicated. The encounter may occur in a physician office, community health center, federally qualified health center, or an ambulatory clinic within a hospital system. When the screening result is negative, no additional diagnostic workup or immediate treatment is initiated; the screening result G9920 is used to indicate screening performed and negative in claims documentation and to support preventive care tracking in the electronic health record.
Coding Specifications
| Modifier | Description | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
22 | Increased procedural services | Use when work required is substantially greater than typically required for the screening visit (rare for brief screenings). |
23 |