Therapeutic Phlebotomy (CPB 0652, reviewed 2026-09-25)
Aetna considers therapeutic phlebotomy medically necessary for erythrocytosis of undetermined etiology with a hematocrit of 55% or higher, hemochromatosis (including hereditary hemochromatosis), individuals receiving testosterone therapy with a hematocrit of 54% or higher (or hemoglobin of 180 g/L or higher), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease with hyperferritinemia, non-hereditary hemochromatosis iron overload with elevated hepatic iron concentration, polycythemia vera, polycythemia secondary to arteriovenous fistulae, cor pulmonale or cyanotic congenital heart disease (for hematocrit greater than 60%), porphyria cutanea tarda, and sickle cell crisis. The policy lists acute gouty arthritis, chronic hepatitis C, chronic urticaria, the common cold, hyperferritinemia in alcohol liver disease, hypertension, migraines, myeloproliferative disorders without polycythemia vera, and progressive multiple sclerosis as experimental, investigational or unproven for phlebotomy treatment. CPT 99195 (phlebotomy, therapeutic, separate procedure) is covered if the selection criteria are met.