P9010 — Blood (whole), for transfusion, per unit
P9010 is a HCPCS Level II code for blood (whole), for transfusion, per unit. It belongs to the Pathology and Laboratory Services 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 statusE
Excluded from the physician fee schedule by regulation. Payment, where it exists, comes from another fee schedule (drugs via ASP, supplies via DMEPOS, and so on).
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 P9010 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 · Clinical: Data
- outpatient
- 4 units MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · Clinical: Data
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 P9010
- Long descriptor
- Blood (whole), for transfusion, per unit
- Short descriptor
- Whole blood for transfusion
- Added
- January 1, 1987
- BETOS
- T1H
- Pricing indicator
- 52 — Other
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.
Reasonable charge.
Codes adjacent to P9010
HCPCS has no hierarchy — related items simply sit next to each other in the numbering. If P9010 is not quite right, the correct code is very often within a few positions of it.
- P2028Cephalin floculation, blood
- P2029Congo red, blood
- P2031Hair analysis (excluding arsenic)
- P2033Thymol turbidity, blood
- P2038Mucoprotein, blood (seromucoid) (medical necessity procedure)
- P3000Screening papanicolaou smear, cervical or vaginal, up to three smears, by technician under physician supervision
- P3001Screening papanicolaou smear, cervical or vaginal, up to three smears, requiring interpretation by physician
- P7001Culture, bacterial, urine; quantitative, sensitivity study
- P9011Blood, split unit
- P9012Cryoprecipitate, each unit
- P9016Red blood cells, leukocytes reduced, each unit
- P9017Fresh frozen plasma (single donor), frozen within 8 hours of collection, each unit
- P9019Platelets, each unit
- P9020Platelet rich plasma, each unit
- P9021Red blood cells, each unit
- P9022Red blood cells, washed, each unit
Questions about P9010
What is HCPCS code P9010?
P9010 is a HCPCS Level II code for blood (whole), for transfusion, per unit. It sits in the Pathology and Laboratory Services section.
Does Medicare cover P9010?
The CMS HCPCS file marks P9010 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 P9010 paid under the physician fee schedule?
P9010 carries PFS status code E. Excluded from the physician fee schedule by regulation. Payment, where it exists, comes from another fee schedule (drugs via ASP, supplies via DMEPOS, and so on).