# Search and list policies
URL: https://backworkhealth.com/docs/api/listPolicies

Search and list coverage policies with filtering and cursor pagination.

**Endpoint:** `GET /api/v1/policies`

**Availability:** Live in production.

**Authentication:** API key in `Authorization: Bearer <key>` with the `read` scope.

Search and list coverage policies with filtering and cursor pagination. Supports `keyword` (PostgreSQL full-text) and `semantic` (vector) search modes; semantic results are a single ranked page. Pass `format=csv` or `format=fhir` (or `_format=application/fhir+json`) for CSV or FHIR R4 `CoverageEligibilityResponse` output.

**Parameters**

* `q` (query): Search query (max 500 characters)
* `mode` (query): Search mode. With a `q`, `semantic` counts as 4 requests.
* `policy_type` (query): Filter by policy type
* `jurisdiction` (query): Filter by MAC jurisdiction or publisher-indexed state (e.g., JE, OR); shared documents retain their scope label
* `line_of_business` (query): Filter by a document-scoped line of business; shared-market documents never match
* `payer` (query): Filter by payer name (partial match). Supported in both `keyword` and `semantic` search modes.
* `icd10` (query): Filter by ICD-10 code. Returns policies that cover this diagnosis code.
* `status` (query): Filter by policy status
* `cursor` (query): Pagination cursor (base64url encoded) from the previous response
* `limit` (query): Results per page
* `include` (query): Additional data to include (comma-separated: summary, criteria, codes)

**Code sources:** Code entries in the response carry a `source`: `document` when the policy document lists the code, `inferred_title_match` when the code was attached because the policy title names the drug. See [Code sources](/docs/code-sources).

**Example request**

```bash
curl -X GET "https://backworkhealth.com/api/v1/policies?q=ultrasound+guidance&mode=keyword&policy_type=LCD&icd10=E11.9&status=active&include=summary%2Ccriteria%2Ccodes" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BACKWORK_API_KEY"
```

**Example response** (`200`)

```json
{
  "success": true,
  "data": [
    {
      "policy_id": "string",
      "title": "string",
      "policy_type": "string",
      "jurisdiction": "string",
      "effective_date": "2026-01-15",
      "retire_date": "2026-01-15",
      "status": "string",
      "source_url": "string",
      "payer": "string",
      "payer_slug": "molina-healthcare",
      "applicability_scope": "shared_markets",
      "applicability_markets": [
        "string"
      ],
      "applicability_evidence": {
        "document_sha256": "string",
        "market_index_listings": [
          {}
        ],
        "document_statements": [
          {}
        ]
      },
      "applicability_note": "string",
      "public_url": "https://backworkhealth.com/policy/L33831",
      "source_check": {
        "source_url": "https://www.cms.gov/medicare-coverage-database/view/lcd.aspx?lcdid=33831",
        "last_fetched_at": "2026-01-15T10:30:00Z",
        "content_sha256": "9f86d081884c7d659a2feaa0c55ad015a3bf4f1b2b0b822cd15d6c15b0f00a08",
        "source_accuracy": [
          {}
        ]
      },
      "source_shape": "criteria_backed",
      "source_shape_reason": "string",
      "summary": "string",
      "codes": [
        {
          "code": "string",
          "code_system": "string",
          "disposition": "string",
          "source": "document",
          "grounding": "grounded"
        }
      ],
      "code_count": 0,
      "criteria": [
        {
          "section": "string",
          "text": "string",
          "tags": []
        }
      ],
      "relevance_score": 0
    }
  ],
  "meta": {
    "request_id": "string",
    "timestamp": "2026-01-15T10:30:00Z",
    "pagination": {
      "cursor": "string",
      "has_more": true,
      "limit": 0
    },
    "search": {
      "query": "string",
      "mode": "keyword",
      "results": 0,
      "fallback": "semantic_scope_not_indexed"
    },
    "filters": {
      "policy_type": "string",
      "jurisdiction": "string",
      "line_of_business": "string",
      "payer": "string",
      "icd10": "string",
      "status": "active"
    },
    "attributions": {
      "disclaimer": "string",
      "cpt": "string",
      "loinc": "string",
      "cms": "string",
      "payer_data": "string",
      "negotiated_rates": "string"
    }
  }
}
```