Reimbursement approved for new Pap test
January 1, 1998 less than 1 minute read
Reimbursement approved for new Pap test
Blue Shield of California is the latest Blue Cross and Blue Shield plan to start reimbursing for the ThinPrep Pap Test. Since Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts approved coverage in February 1997, an additional six Blues plans have begun reimbursing for the ThinPrep Pap Test for primary cervical cancer screening. The addition of Blue Shield of California makes the ThinPrep Pap Test available to nearly five million members of the Blue Cross Blue Shield System.
Reimbursement will be provided under new CPT code 88142. Though the new code is not scheduled to take effect until Jan. 1, 1998, Blue Shield of California will reimburse laboratories in California who perform the ThinPrep Pap Test, effective immediately.
The ThinPrep Pap Test was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in May 1996 as a replacement for the conventional Pap smear preparation. Clinical trials have shown the ThinPrep Pap Test to be significantly more effective than the conventional smear for the detection of low-grade and more severe lesions in a variety of patient populations, and to significantly improve specimen quality. t
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