Q0091 — Screening papanicolaou smear; obtaining, preparing and conveyance of cervical or vaginal smear to laboratory
Q0091 is a HCPCS Level II code for screening papanicolaou smear; obtaining, preparing and conveyance of cervical or vaginal smear to laboratory. It belongs to the Temporary Codes 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.
Physician fee schedule statusA
Active code. Paid separately under the physician fee schedule.
- Work RVU
- 0.36
- PE (non-facility)
- 0.99
- PE (facility)
- 0.08
- Malpractice RVU
- 0.03
Global period: XXX
Want the dollar amount for your locality? The fee calculator applies your GPCI and the current conversion factor.
Medically Unlikely Edits — units per day
The most units of Q0091 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
- 1 unit MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · Anatomic Consideration
- outpatient
- 1 unit MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · Anatomic Consideration
- DME supplier
- 0 — never payable MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · CMS Policy
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 Q0091
- Long descriptor
- Screening papanicolaou smear; obtaining, preparing and conveyance of cervical or vaginal smear to laboratory
- Short descriptor
- Obtaining screen pap smear
- Added
- January 1, 1992
- BETOS
- P6C
- Pricing indicator
- 11 — Physician fee schedule
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.
Price established using national RVUs.
Codes adjacent to Q0091
HCPCS has no hierarchy — related items simply sit next to each other in the numbering. If Q0091 is not quite right, the correct code is very often within a few positions of it.
- P9604Travel allowance one way in connection with medically necessary laboratory specimen collection drawn from home bound or nursing home bound patient; prorated trip charge
- P9612Catheterization for collection of specimen, single patient, all places of service
- P9615Catheterization for collection of specimen(s) (multiple patients)
- Q0035Cardiokymography
- Q0081Infusion therapy, using other than chemotherapeutic drugs, per visit
- Q0083Chemotherapy administration by other than infusion technique only (e.g., subcutaneous, intramuscular, push), per visit
- Q0084Chemotherapy administration by infusion technique only, per visit
- Q0085Chemotherapy administration by both infusion technique and other technique(s) (e.g., subcutaneous, intramuscular, push), per visit
- Q0092Set-up portable x-ray equipment
- Q0111Wet mounts, including preparations of vaginal, cervical or skin specimens
- Q0112All potassium hydroxide (koh) preparations
- Q0113Pinworm examinations
- Q0114Fern test
- Q0115Post-coital direct, qualitative examinations of vaginal or cervical mucous
- Q0138Injection, ferumoxytol, for treatment of iron deficiency anemia, 1 mg (non-esrd use)
- Q0139Injection, ferumoxytol, for treatment of iron deficiency anemia, 1 mg (for esrd on dialysis)
Questions about Q0091
What is HCPCS code Q0091?
Q0091 is a HCPCS Level II code for screening papanicolaou smear; obtaining, preparing and conveyance of cervical or vaginal smear to laboratory. It sits in the Temporary Codes section.
Does Medicare cover Q0091?
The CMS HCPCS file marks Q0091 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.
How is Q0091 paid under the physician fee schedule?
Q0091 carries PFS status code A. Active code. Paid separately under the physician fee schedule.