E0601 — Continuous positive airway pressure (cpap) device
E0601 is a HCPCS Level II code for continuous positive airway pressure (cpap) device. It belongs to the Durable Medical Equipment section. Whether Medicare pays it depends on the coverage rule below.
Medicare coverage: Special coverage instructions apply
There are published conditions attached to this code. Check the applicable coverage policy before billing it: the code being valid is not the same as the service being covered.
From the coverage field of the CMS Alpha-Numeric HCPCS File, release 2026Q3-Jul. This states Medicare’s position on the code, not on your particular claim.
Medically Unlikely Edits — units per day
The most units of E0601 Medicare will pay on one date of service. Bill more on a single line and it is denied. The limit is not the same in every setting, so the row that matters is the one matching the claim you are building.
- practitioner
- 0 — never payable MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · CMS Policy
- outpatient
- 0 — never payable MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · CMS Policy
- DME supplier
- 1 unit MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · Nature of Equipment
The adjudication indicator decides whether exceeding the limit is worth appealing at all: MAI 1 is a line edit you can support with documentation, MAI 3 is a date-of-service edit that is also appealable, and MAI 2 is absolute — no documentation overrides it. CMS MUE 2026Q3.
The CMS record for E0601
- Long descriptor
- Continuous positive airway pressure (cpap) device
- Short descriptor
- Cont airway pressure device
- Added
- January 1, 1988
- BETOS
- D1E
- Pricing indicator
- 36 — DMEPOS
The official wording. This is what the code means.
CMS's 28-character form, which is what shows up on a remittance advice.
When CMS introduced the code.
Berenson-Eggers Type of Service — CMS's own analytic grouping.
Capped rental DME. Price subject to floors and ceilings.
Codes adjacent to E0601
HCPCS has no hierarchy — related items simply sit next to each other in the numbering. If E0601 is not quite right, the correct code is very often within a few positions of it.
- E0565Compressor, air power source for equipment which is not self-contained or cylinder driven
- E0570Nebulizer, with compressor
- E0572Aerosol compressor, adjustable pressure, light duty for intermittent use
- E0574Ultrasonic/electronic aerosol generator with small volume nebulizer
- E0575Nebulizer, ultrasonic, large volume
- E0580Nebulizer, durable, glass or autoclavable plastic, bottle type, for use with regulator or flowmeter
- E0585Nebulizer, with compressor and heater
- E0600Respiratory suction pump, home model, portable or stationary, electric
- E0602Breast pump, manual, any type
- E0603Breast pump, electric (ac and/or dc), any type
- E0604Breast pump, hospital grade, electric (ac and / or dc), any type
- E0605Vaporizer, room type
- E0606Postural drainage board
- E0607Home blood glucose monitor
- E0610Pacemaker monitor, self-contained, (checks battery depletion, includes audible and visible check systems)
- E0615Pacemaker monitor, self contained, checks battery depletion and other pacemaker components, includes digital/visible check systems
Questions about E0601
What is HCPCS code E0601?
E0601 is a HCPCS Level II code for continuous positive airway pressure (cpap) device. It sits in the Durable Medical Equipment section.
Does Medicare cover E0601?
The CMS HCPCS file marks E0601 as "Special coverage instructions apply". There are published conditions attached to this code. Check the applicable coverage policy before billing it: the code being valid is not the same as the service being covered.