V2523 — Contact lens, hydrophilic, extended wear, per lens
V2523 is a HCPCS Level II code for contact lens, hydrophilic, extended wear, per lens. It belongs to the Vision, Hearing and Speech-Language Pathology 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 statusX
Statutory exclusion. The item or service is not within the statutory definition of 'physician services', so the fee schedule never pays it.
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 V2523 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
- 2 units MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · Anatomic Consideration
- outpatient
- 2 units MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · Anatomic Consideration
- DME supplier
- 2 units MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · Anatomic Consideration
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 V2523
- Long descriptor
- Contact lens, hydrophilic, extended wear, per lens
- Short descriptor
- Cntct lens hydrophil extend
- Added
- January 1, 1985
- BETOS
- D1F
- Pricing indicator
- 38 — 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.
Orthotics, prosthetics, prosthetic devices and vision services. Price subject to floors and ceilings.
Codes adjacent to V2523
HCPCS has no hierarchy — related items simply sit next to each other in the numbering. If V2523 is not quite right, the correct code is very often within a few positions of it.
- V2503Contact lens, pmma, color vision deficiency, per lens
- V2510Contact lens, gas permeable, spherical, per lens
- V2511Contact lens, gas permeable, toric, prism ballast, per lens
- V2512Contact lens, gas permeable, bifocal, per lens
- V2513Contact lens, gas permeable, extended wear, per lens
- V2520Contact lens, hydrophilic, spherical, per lens
- V2521Contact lens, hydrophilic, toric, or prism ballast, per lens
- V2522Contact lens, hydrophilic, bifocal, per lens
- V2524Contact lens, hydrophilic, spherical, photochromic additive, per lens
- V2525Contact lens, hydrophilic, dual focus, per lens
- V2526Contact lens, hydrophilic, with blue-violet filter, per lens
- V2530Contact lens, scleral, gas impermeable, per lens (for contact lens modification, see 92325)
- V2531Contact lens, scleral, gas permeable, per lens (for contact lens modification, see 92325)
- V2599Contact lens, other type
- V2600Hand held low vision aids and other nonspectacle mounted aids
- V2610Single lens spectacle mounted low vision aids
Questions about V2523
What is HCPCS code V2523?
V2523 is a HCPCS Level II code for contact lens, hydrophilic, extended wear, per lens. It sits in the Vision, Hearing and Speech-Language Pathology section.
Does Medicare cover V2523?
The CMS HCPCS file marks V2523 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 V2523 paid under the physician fee schedule?
V2523 carries PFS status code X. Statutory exclusion. The item or service is not within the statutory definition of 'physician services', so the fee schedule never pays it.