Hospital Revenue Codes (UB-04) Explained in Plain English

Revenue codes describe the hospital department a charge came from — not the specific procedure.

What a revenue code means: a four-digit code on a hospital (UB-04) bill that identifies which department or category produced the charge — room and board, pharmacy, imaging, the operating room — so the insurer can see how the total breaks down.

This is the single most common source of confusion on a hospital bill. A patient sees "0250 — $4,812" and reasonably assumes it names a treatment. It does not: 0250 is the pharmacy department, and that figure is every medication billed during the stay, collapsed into one line. The procedure-level detail lives in the CPT and HCPCS codes underneath, which a summary bill usually does not show.

That gap is exactly why requesting an itemized bill matters. Once you have one, each revenue-code total should break out into individual coded lines you can actually check — and the two questions worth asking are whether every department that appears was genuinely involved in your care, and whether the detail lines under each total add up to the total.

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Revenue code ranges and what they cover

Code rangeCategoryWhat it covers
0100–0219Room & boardRoom and board — the daily charge for your hospital room and nursing care.
0250–0259PharmacyPharmacy — medications provided during your stay.
0260–0269IV therapyIV therapy — fluids and medications given through an IV.
0270–0279SuppliesMedical supplies and devices used in your care.
0300–0319LabLaboratory — blood and other lab tests.
0320–0329ImagingRadiology — diagnostic X-rays and imaging.
0340–0349ImagingNuclear medicine imaging.
0350–0359ImagingCT scan department.
0360–0369SurgeryOperating room services.
0370–0379AnesthesiaAnesthesia services.
0380–0389BloodBlood and blood products.
0390–0399BloodBlood storage and processing.
0400–0409ImagingOther imaging services.
0410–0419RespiratoryRespiratory therapy.
0420–0449TherapyPhysical, occupational, or speech therapy.
0450–0459EmergencyEmergency room services.
0460–0469TestingPulmonary function tests.
0470–0479TestingAudiology (hearing) services.
0480–0489CardiacCardiology services and cardiac testing.
0490–0499SurgeryAmbulatory surgery services.
0500–0509OutpatientOutpatient services.
0510–0519ClinicClinic services.
0610–0619ImagingMRI department.
0636PharmacyDrugs requiring detailed coding (often high-cost medications).
0700–0709RecoveryRecovery room / cast room services.
0710–0719RecoveryRecovery room services.
0720–0729MaternityLabor and delivery room services.
0730–0739CardiacEKG / ECG heart tracing services.
0760–0769ObservationTreatment or observation room services.

Frequently asked questions about revenue codes

What is a revenue code on a hospital bill?

A revenue code is a four-digit UB-04 code that identifies which hospital department or category a charge came from — the pharmacy, the operating room, the lab. It describes where the charge originated, not what specific procedure was performed.

What is the difference between a revenue code and a CPT code?

A revenue code says which hospital department billed the charge; a CPT or HCPCS code says what was actually done. On an itemized hospital bill the same line often carries both — the revenue code groups it, and the CPT code describes it.

Why does my hospital bill show a revenue code with no description?

Summary hospital bills frequently list only revenue codes and totals, which is why a bill can be several pages long and still explain nothing. You have the right to request a fully itemized bill that shows each CPT or HCPCS code, the units, and the charge behind every revenue-code total.

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Last reviewed 2026-08-09 · MDBillCheck Editorial Team. Revenue code structure is a public NUBC standard; the plain-English wording here is original.