E0196: Gel pressure mattress
E0196 is a HCPCS Level II code for gel pressure mattress. 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 2026Q4-Oct. This states Medicare’s position on the code, not on your particular claim.
Medically Unlikely Edits: units per day
The most units of E0196 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 2: Date of Service Edit: Policy · Code Descriptor / CPT Instruction
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 2026Q4.
The CMS record for E0196
- Long descriptor
- Gel pressure mattress
- Short descriptor
- Gel pressure mattress
- Added
- January 1, 1991
- 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 E0196
HCPCS has no hierarchy: related items simply sit next to each other in the numbering. If E0196 is not quite right, the correct code is very often within a few positions of it.
- E0186Air pressure mattress
- E0187Water pressure mattress
- E0188Synthetic sheepskin pad
- E0189Lambswool sheepskin pad, any size
- E0190Positioning cushion/pillow/wedge, any shape or size, includes all components and accessories
- E0191Heel or elbow protector, each
- E0193Powered air flotation bed (low air loss therapy)
- E0194Air fluidized bed
- E0197Air pressure pad for mattress, standard mattress length and width
- E0198Water pressure pad for mattress, standard mattress length and width
- E0199Dry pressure pad for mattress, standard mattress length and width
- E0200Heat lamp, without stand (table model), includes bulb, or infrared element
- E0201Penile contracture device, manual, greater than 3 lbs traction force
- E0202Phototherapy (bilirubin) light with photometer
- E0203Therapeutic lightbox, minimum 10,000 lux, table top model
- E0205Heat lamp, with stand, includes bulb, or infrared element