## **What is the HCPCS code G2023?**
HCPCS code G2023 refers to the "Specimen collection for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (coronavirus disease [COVID-19]), any specimen source." This HCPCS code was created for use by independent laboratories to capture the resource utilization of the lab technician collecting samples for coronavirus disease COVID-19 testing, typically from homebound or skilled nursing facility patients. It applies to any specimen source, meaning it is not limited to a particular type of sample collection, such as nasal swabs.
This code was effective starting March 1, 2020, but was marked as deleted code effective May 11, 2023. It was primarily used during the coronavirus disease public health emergency to bill for COVID-19 specimen collection done by laboratory personnel rather than by the provider's office directly. When COVID-19 specimen collection was performed in a hospital outpatient clinic visit or a physician's office, different codes were used (e.g., C9803 for hospital outpatient clinic specimen collection). Also, if specimen collection was performed as part of an office visit by clinical staff, CPT code 99211 was used instead, with no separate payment for the collection if it was part of a broader service by the physician.
Hence, G2023 was for billing the specimen collection service when independent labs or lab staff did the collection for COVID-19 testing, but it is no longer active after mid-2023. It was often paired with multiple-step method testing involving infectious agent detection technologies like multiplex amplified probe technique or amplified probe technique used to detect coronavirus 2, SARS-CoV, and related strains, such as respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.
## **G2023 documentation requirements**
HCPCS code G2023 documentation requirements primarily focus on demonstrating proper specimen collection for COVID-19 testing performed by independent clinical laboratories. Key points on the documentation requirements include:
- G2023 was created for use by independent laboratories capturing the resource utilization for specimen collection of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), typically in homebound or skilled nursing facility patients.
- Documentation must clearly support that the specimen collection was performed by the lab technician or laboratory personnel, not by the physician or hospital outpatient department staff.
- Proper medical record documentation should confirm the date, time, specimen source, and method of specimen collection, linking it specifically to coronavirus disease testing through technologies such as nucleic acid or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay methods.
- Since G2023 applies to specimen collection distinct from other clinical services, it must not be reported when testing itself or specimen collection is performed by other staff or as part of an office or hospital outpatient clinic visit.
- Modifier requirements and documentation for related services (such as a physician visit) must also be followed when billing alongside specimen collection codes.
- Although disease control entities like CMS removed some documentation and recordkeeping requirements for orders of COVID-19 diagnostic tests generally, specimen collection must still be documented properly to support billing.
- G2023 can only be billed by independent clinical laboratories (not health centers or hospitals), and documentation should reflect this context.
- Effective May 2023, G2023 was deleted, so it is no longer an active HCPCS code, but during its active period, thorough documentation of laboratory specimen collection was required to justify billing.
## **G2023 billing requirements**
The billing requirements for HCPCS code G2023, which was used for specimen collection for COVID-19 testing by independent laboratories, are as follows:
- G2023 could only be billed by independent clinical laboratories, not by hospitals or physician offices. It reflected the resource utilization of lab personnel collecting specimens from homebound or skilled nursing facility patients or other non-hospital settings.
- The code was used to bill for specimen collection as a separate service, distinct from the actual testing. It was not payable when collection was performed by clinical staff as part of an office visit or hospital outpatient clinic visit (where other codes like C9803 or CPT 99211 would apply).
- Billing G2023 was only allowed when the specimen collection was the only service rendered during the encounter. If billed alongside another primary procedure or test on the same date of service, it was generally not reimbursed.
- The specimen had to be collected by trained laboratory personnel, not self-collected by the patient or collected by non-lab staff.
- Appropriate modifiers like CR (catastrophe/disaster related) or CS (COVID-19 specimen collection) should be appended to the code and any related evaluation and management codes.
- G2023 was effective from March 1, 2020, but it was marked deleted as of May 11, 2023, so it is no longer active for billing.
- Payment rates during active use were around $23.46 for G2023 specimens collected outside skilled nursing facilities or home health agency contexts.
- For specimens collected from individuals in skilled nursing facilities or on behalf of a home health agency, a different code, G2024, was used, which had a slightly higher rate ($25.46).
- G2023 should not be billed by providers who both collect and perform the test; if the testing provider runs the test, only the test code is billed, not the specimen collection code.
## **Other relevant codes**
- **G2024**: Specimen collection for SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) from an individual in a skilled nursing facility or by a laboratory on behalf of a home health agency, any specimen source. This code is closely related to G2023 but specific to patients in skilled nursing or home health contexts.
- **C9803**: Hospital outpatient clinic visit specimen collection for SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19). This code is used when specimen collection is performed in a hospital outpatient setting, rather than by independent labs (which use G2023/G2024).
- **CPT code 99211**: This is a low-level evaluation and management (E/M) service code used when specimen collection is performed by clinical staff as part of a physician office visit, but only when the specimen collection is the only service rendered during that visit.
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