How Medterpret works

In about 20 seconds, we tell you whether Medicare is likely to cover the lab tests on your doctor’s order — and what to fix before you go.

1. Upload your doctor’s order

Take a photo, drop in a PDF, or paste a screenshot of your lab order. We support Quest, LabCorp, CPL, and most other lab requisition forms. Bills and Advance Beneficiary Notices (ABNs) work too.

2. We extract every test code

A vision model reads the document and pulls out the CPT codes, diagnosis (ICD-10) codes, dates, and provider details. If the image quality is too low to read confidently, we tell you up front — no silent guessing.

3. We match each test against Medicare’s rules

For every test on your order, we check:

National Coverage Determinations (NCDs) — does the test have a Medicare-approved diagnosis-code list, and are your codes on it?
Local Coverage Determinations (LCDs) — does your state set additional or different rules?
Frequency limits — how often Medicare will pay for this test (e.g. CBC up to 4×/year, PSA up to 1×/year).

4. You get a clear, fixable report

Each test gets a status badge: Pass, Fix codes, Check timing, or Missing codes. For anything that needs fixing, we suggest specific Medicare-accepted diagnosis codes you can ask your doctor about — before you walk into the lab.

By document

The same three steps work for each of the four pieces of paper you may meet, in the order they arrive.

Which document do you have?
	Test orderbefore the visit	ABNAdvance Beneficiary NoticeOriginal Medicare only	Denial letterMSN, EOB or plan letter	Billafter the visit
1 · Show us	Snap a picture of the order.	Snap a picture of the ABN.	Snap a picture of the letter.	Snap a picture of the bill.
2 · See what it says	Whether the diagnosis codes match Medicare’s coverage rules for each test.	What Medicare pays for those tests, and how large the lab’s markup is.	What your plan says about why, the deadline to act, and whether Medterpret thinks it’s worth acting on. All in plain English.	Their price against Medicare’s rate, and the gap you can use.
3 · Take the next step	If the codes don’t match, double-check with your doctor before you go.	Ask for a lower price. If the lab won’t come close, use Find a lab for one that will. Medical-necessity denial, no valid ABN: nothing owed. If Medicare denied the test as not reasonable and necessary (your Medicare Summary Notice may say “The information provided does not support the need for this service or item”) and the provider never had you sign a valid ABN, the provider may not bill you for it. Social Security Act §1879; 42 CFR §411.404. This does not apply to services Medicare never covers, such as a routine physical checkup (Social Security Act §1862(a)(7)). You owe those even without an ABN.	If it’s worth it and you want our help, we draft an appeal letter tailored to the reasons you were denied. You review, edit, sign and send.	Use Medicare’s rate and our negotiating tools to get a better deal. (GougeStop)

Which document do you have?

Test order

before the visit

1 · Show us: Snap a picture of the order.
2 · See what it says: Whether the diagnosis codes match Medicare’s coverage rules for each test.
3 · Take the next step: If the codes don’t match, double-check with your doctor before you go.

ABN

Advance Beneficiary Notice

Original Medicare only

1 · Show us: Snap a picture of the ABN.
2 · See what it says: What Medicare pays for those tests, and how large the lab’s markup is.
3 · Take the next step: Ask for a lower price. If the lab won’t come close, use Find a lab for one that will.
Medical-necessity denial, no valid ABN: nothing owed.
If Medicare denied the test as not reasonable and necessary (your Medicare Summary Notice may say “The information provided does not support the need for this service or item”) and the provider never had you sign a valid ABN, the provider may not bill you for it. Social Security Act §1879; 42 CFR §411.404.
This does not apply to services Medicare never covers, such as a routine physical checkup (Social Security Act §1862(a)(7)). You owe those even without an ABN.

Denial letter

MSN, EOB or plan letter

1 · Show us: Snap a picture of the letter.
2 · See what it says: What your plan says about why, the deadline to act, and whether Medterpret thinks it’s worth acting on. All in plain English.
3 · Take the next step: If it’s worth it and you want our help, we draft an appeal letter tailored to the reasons you were denied. You review, edit, sign and send.

Bill

after the visit

1 · Show us: Snap a picture of the bill.
2 · See what it says: Their price against Medicare’s rate, and the gap you can use.
3 · Take the next step: Use Medicare’s rate and our negotiating tools to get a better deal. (GougeStop)

Ready to try it?

Pre-Check is free, doesn’t require an account, and works on your phone.

Start Pre-Check → • Look up a single code

Not affiliated with or endorsed by any government agency. Medterpret drafts letters and tracks deadlines. You sign and file.