§ 409.87 Blood deductible.

(a) General provisions. (1) As used in this section, packed red cells means the red blood cells that remain after plasma is separated from whole blood.

(2) A unit of packed red cells is treated as the equivalent of a unit of whole blood.

(3) Medicare does not pay for the first 3 units of whole blood or units of packed red cells that a beneficiary receives, during a calendar year, as an inpatient of a hospital or CAH or SNF, or on an outpatient basis under Medicare Part B.

(4) The deductible does not apply to other blood components such as platelets, fibrinogen, plasma, gamma globulin, and serum albumin, or to the cost of processing, storing, and administering blood.

(5) The blood deductible is in addition to the inpatient hospital deductible and daily coinsurance.