Basic Metabolic Panel Cost and Medicare Coverage (CPT 80048)
Also called: BMP · chem 8 · chem 7 · electrolyte panel plus — all the same test, CPT 80048.
No test-specific policy — general Medicare medical-necessity rules apply what's this?
Medicare has no national or regional policy written for this specific test. The general standard applies instead: it’s covered when your doctor orders it for a medical reason — evaluating symptoms, or monitoring a condition or medication — and not as routine screening.
- Does Medicare cover it?
- Yes — covered
- You pay if covered
- $0 — no deductible, no coinsurance
- Medicare pays the lab
- $8.46
- Information verified
- 2026-09-17
Buy it yourself — what you'd really pay
| Where | Test price | Fee | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jason Health jasonhealth.com | $5 | $18 one fee per order — covers every test on it | $23 |
| Ulta Lab Tests ultalabtests.com Partner link — we earn a commission if you order. No extra cost to you. | $20.95 | $12.95 draw fee — one per order, covers every test on it | $33.90 |
| Personalabs personalabs.com · price includes the draw; not a partner — we earn nothing from this row | $51.80 | — | $51.80 |
Disclosure: the Ulta Lab Tests link above is a partner link. If you order through it, ClaraCover earns a commission. It costs you nothing extra, and it never changes what we tell you about Medicare coverage.
The short answer
Yes — when your doctor orders it for a medical reason, which is nearly always the case. Like its big sibling the CMP, the basic metabolic panel has no special Medicare policy: the general rule applies, and monitoring a condition or a medication easily satisfies it. Denials are rare. Medicare pays the lab $8.46; you pay nothing. (What the 8 tests in a BMP measure, and how it differs from a CMP, and what BUN and the BUN/creatinine ratio mean.)
When Medicare DOES cover it
- Monitoring conditions — kidney disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart failure, dehydration concerns
- Monitoring medications — diuretics (“water pills”), blood pressure drugs, and other medicines that can shift kidney function or electrolytes
- Evaluating symptoms — weakness, confusion, irregular heartbeat, swelling, and other complaints where electrolytes and kidney numbers give fast answers
When Medicare does NOT cover it
- Pure routine screening — a panel with no condition, medication, or symptom behind it. As with the CMP, this is the rare exception rather than the rule.
What you pay if it IS covered: $0
Covered lab tests cost Medicare patients nothing — no deductible, no 20% coinsurance. Medicare pays the lab $8.46 for a BMP, and you owe zero.
What it costs to buy yourself
Here the BMP is unusual: Quest’s and Labcorp’s consumer sites don’t sell it by itself — their smallest chemistry panel is the full CMP at $49. Jason Health does, for $5 (jasonhealth.com — add their flat $18 lab-collection fee per order). And honestly, if you’re buying out of pocket anyway, the 14-test CMP for a few dollars more is usually the better purchase — see our CMP page for those prices.
What counts as a “normal” BMP result
Look at the range printed beside each line on your own report. A BMP is not one number. It is 8 separate measurements — kidney, electrolytes and blood sugar — each with its own range printed beside it on your report.
Those ranges are set by the laboratory that ran the test, from its own sample of people on its own equipment, which is why two labs can report the same blood slightly differently. A value flagged as out of range is a prompt for your doctor to look, not a diagnosis on its own.
(Where lab ranges and “optimal” ranges come from, and who decides.)
This page can tell you where those numbers came from. It cannot tell you what yours means — that reading belongs to your doctor, alongside your history and your other results.
Quick questions people ask
What is a BMP? One blood draw, eight measurements: blood sugar (glucose), kidney function (creatinine and BUN), electrolytes (sodium, potassium, chloride, carbon dioxide), and calcium. On billing paperwork it’s CPT code 80048. You’ll also hear “chem 7” or “chem 8” — older nicknames for essentially the same panel.
What’s the difference between a BMP and a CMP? The CMP (CPT 80053) is the same eight tests plus six liver measurements — 14 in all. Doctors order the BMP when the liver isn’t in question, most commonly for routine kidney/electrolyte monitoring. Different codes, different prices, and Medicare covers whichever one your situation calls for.
Do you have to fast for a BMP? Often yes — it includes glucose, and many doctors want that number fasting. Follow the instructions that came with your order. See our guide to fasting before blood work.
Sources and data dates
Medicare payment amount: CMS Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule, 2026 Q3 file (national rate). Coverage: no test-specific national policy — general Medicare medical-necessity rules apply. Consumer prices and catalogs checked September 2026. Information current as of the date shown above; coverage is always determined by Medicare when your claim is processed.
ClaraCover provides information, not medical, billing, or insurance advice. Talk to your doctor about what tests you need.
Covered diagnoses for CPT 80048
There is no national diagnosis list for CPT 80048. Coverage follows the general "reasonable and necessary" standard and any local coverage determination your Medicare contractor has written, as this page describes; the diagnosis on the order still has to support the test.
Billing office? The full list, a batch check, and no daily limit are what we are building for you: tell us you want it. For why lab tests are the one place Medicare gives a straight answer, see what "reasonable and necessary" means.