GL HCPCS Level II modifier: Medically unnecessary upgrade provided instead of non-upgraded item, no charge, no advance beneficiary notice (abn)

GL is a HCPCS Level II modifier: “Medically unnecessary upgrade provided instead of non-upgraded item, no charge, no advance beneficiary notice (abn).” It adds this detail to the code it is reported with.

Official description

GL

Medically unnecessary upgrade provided instead of non-upgraded item, no charge, no advance beneficiary notice (abn)

Short description: Upgraded item, no charge

HCPCS · United States

Medicare details

The indicators CMS publishes with GL in its October 2026 file. They describe Medicare’s handling, not another payer’s.

Medicare coverage: Carrier judgment
Added: Jan 1, 2002

Where GL sits

1GroupHCPCS modifiers
2Modifier GLMedically unnecessary upgrade provided instead of non-upgraded item, no charge, no advance beneficiary notice (abn)

Source and release

Data release: HCPCS Level II · October 2026
Effective date: Oct 1, 2026
Publisher: CMS

This page is built from the HCPCS Level II catalog that Vero Codes reads when it suggests codes: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’s October 2026 release, imported from the publisher’s file and checked against it. The description, notes and structured data come from the same record.

See GL in the CMS source

Frequently asked questions

What does HCPCS code GL mean?

GL is the HCPCS code for “Medically unnecessary upgrade provided instead of non-upgraded item, no charge, no advance beneficiary notice (abn)” in CMS’s HCPCS Level II October 2026 release.

Where is GL in the HCPCS Level II list?

GL is listed under Modifiers.

Does Medicare cover GL?

CMS lists GL’s Medicare coverage as “Carrier judgment”. Coverage and payment still depend on the patient, the setting, the documentation and the payer.

Which HCPCS Level II release does this page use?

It uses CMS’s October 2026 release, in effect from Oct 1, 2026 to Dec 31, 2026. It is a reference: confirm the code against the current list and the payer’s rules before you submit it.

All modifiers

GEThis service has been performed by a resident without the presence of a teaching physician under the primary care exception GFNon-physician (e.g. nurse practitioner (np), certified registered nurse anesthetist (crna), certified registered nurse (crn), clinical nurse specialist (cns), physician assistant…GGPerformance and payment of a screening mammogram and diagnostic mammogram on the same patient, same day GHDiagnostic mammogram converted from screening mammogram on same day GJ"opt out" physician or practitioner emergency or urgent service GKReasonable and necessary item/service associated with a ga or gz modifier GMMultiple patients on one ambulance trip GNServices delivered under an outpatient speech language pathology plan of care GOServices delivered under an outpatient occupational therapy plan of care GPServices delivered under an outpatient physical therapy plan of care GQVia asynchronous telecommunications system GRThis service was performed in whole or in part by a resident in a department of veterans affairs medical center or clinic, supervised in accordance with va policy