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The rules say that plans must pay for a medical service or item if regular Medicare would pay for it in this case. 
You can find this rule at 42 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Section 422.101. 
 
The rules say that providers/suppliers must report services correctly. Procedures should be reported with the 
Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code that describes the services performed. You can find this rule in 
the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Medicare National Correct Coding Initiative Policy Manual 
for Medicare Services, Chapter I(A). 
 
The rules say that all diagnostic x-ray tests, diagnostic laboratory tests, and other diagnostic tests must be 
ordered by the physician who is treating the beneficiary, that is, the physician who furnishes a consultation or 
treats a beneficiary for a specific medical problem and who uses the results in the management of the 
beneficiary's specific medical problem. Tests not ordered by the physician who is treating the beneficiary are 
not reasonable and necessary. You can find this rule in 42 CFR, Section 410.32 
 
The rules say that Molecular pathology procedures (Tier1 and Tier 2) may be eligible for coverage 
when ALL of the following criteria are met: 
 Alternative laboratory or clinical tests to definitively diagnose the disorder/identify the condition are 
unavailable or results are clearly equivocal; AND 
 Availability of a clinically valid test, based on published peer reviewed medical literature; AND 
 Testing assay(s) are Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved/cleared or if LDT (lab developed 
test) or LDT protocol or FDA modified test(s) the laboratory documentation should support assay(s) of 
analytical validity and clinical utility; AND 
 Results of the testing must directly impact treatment or management of the Medicare beneficiary; AND 
 For testing panels, including but not limited to, multiple genes or multiple conditions, and in cases 
where a tiered approach/method is clinically available, testing would be covered ONLY for the number 
of genes or test that are reasonable and necessary to obtain necessary information for therapeutic 
decision making; AND 
 Individual has not previously received genetic testing for the disease/condition.  
 Documentation must be adequate to verify that coverage guidelines listed above have been met. Thus, the 
medical record must contain documentation that the testing is expected to influence treatment of the condition 
toward which the testing is directed. You can find this rule in the Local Coverage Determination and Article for 
Molecular Pathology Procedures, L35000 and A56199. 
 
The rules say for Medicare to consider coverage and payment for any item or service, the information 
submitted by the supplier or provider must corroborate the documentation in the beneficiary's medical 
documentation and confirm that Medicare coverage criteria have been met. You can see this in the Centers for 
Medicare and Medicaid Services, Internet Only Manual, Publication 100-08, Medicare Program Integrity 
Manual, Chapter 3, Section 3.3.2.1. 
 
If you want to read these Medicare rules, you can go to this website www.medicareappeal.com. 
 
The Plan contract says that the Plan covers items and services in accordance with Medicare rules.