Does Medicare pay for a technician to collect specimens for nursing home patients?

Medicare Part B does cover a specimen-collection fee and travel allowance for a laboratory technician to draw a specimen from either a nursing home patient or homebound patient. Payment is made based on either a per-mileage basis (level II code P9603) or on a flat-rate, per-trip basis (level II code P9604) as long as a specimen-collection fee is also payable. Currently, code P9603 is paid $1.035 per mile, and code P9604 is $9.55 per trip. For more on this, go to http://www.cms.hhs.gov/Transmittals/downloads/R1584CP.pdf.