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Billing code

Q140A — Pap smear exclusion code

Pap screening exclusion code

Bill Q140A at zero to remove a patient with a cervix from the cervical screening bonus population: hysterectomy, cervical disease testing, or not sexually active.

Watch for: Send it with the visit claim within three months of the service date, or it is rejected as stale-dated.

Code

Q140A

Description

Pap smear exclusion code

FHO+ basket

Not in the FHO+ base rate basket (Schedule 2 or 2B).

Effective date

Mar 31, 2004

Termination date

No end date

Explanation

Updated October 26, 2026

Zero-fee exclusion code removing a woman from the Pap smear bonus population: hysterectomy, cervical disease testing, or not sexually active.

What it covers

Q140A is the Pap smear exclusion code (OMA Q-codes guide p.7, p.18). It applies to women who have had a hysterectomy, who are being tested for cervical diseases that preclude regular screening Pap tests, and any female who is not sexually active (OMA Q-codes guide p.7, p.18).

Exclusion codes identify the patient as meeting the criteria to be left out of the target population for that preventive service (OMA Q-codes guide p.17). A Pap smear that was done is tracked with Q011A instead (OMA Q-codes guide p.7). Q140A is not in the Schedule or Appendix Q; the source is the 2020 OMA guide.

Billing rules

• Bill at zero. The remittance advice pays zero with explanatory code 30, 'this service is not a benefit of OHIP' (OMA Q-codes guide p.17).
• Submit it with your normal fee-for-service and premium billing (OMA Q-codes guide p.17).
• The cervical screening bonus population is enrolled patients with a cervix aged 25 to 69 on March 31 of the fiscal year, and it counts cervical screening in the 66 months before March 31 (INFOBulletin 260805).
• Bonus tiers Q105A to Q109A run from 60% to 80% of that population and are claimed at zero (AQ6).
• Appendix Q lists the cervical screening tiers only for RNPGA, BSM, GHC, SJHC, SEAMO, WHA and CCM/FHG physicians who meet the minimum roster; FHN and FHO aren't listed (AQ6). The April 2026 FHO agreement lets an FHO physician claim under only two headings, influenza and childhood immunizations (Agreement p.65 §8.1). The 2020 OMA guide still lists FHN and FHO (OMA Q-codes guide p.16), but the newer sources take precedence.

Often billed with

• The visit where the exclusion is confirmed, such as A003 or A007; tracking and exclusion codes go in with normal fee-for-service claims (OMA Q-codes guide p.17).

Common rejections

• VJ7: OHIP received the claim more than three months after the service date, so it was rejected as stale-dated (GP9). A zero-fee exclusion code has the same three-month limit, so send Q140A with the visit claim.
• EH2: The health card version code on the claim doesn't match OHIP's record, often because the patient has a newer card; get the current version code and resubmit.

Related codes: Q011, Q105, Q109, Q141, Q142

Source: Not in the Schedule of Benefits; OMA Primary Care Q-Codes Quick Reference Guide (November 2020), Tracking and Exclusion Codes, pages 7 and 16-18; bonus tiers in Appendix Q, page AQ6

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