CPT code 0020M: CNS tumor assay, 30,000-locus DNA array2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
This CNS tumor assay analyzes DNA methylation at 30,000 loci and reports the probability of matching a reference tumor subclass.
Medicare pays $2,500.00 for 0020M under the 2026 Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule: one national amount, the same in every state and setting.
Medicare lab fee · CLFS 2026 Q4
National CLFS amount
$2,500.00
In effect since Jan 1, 2026. The same amount in every state, payment locality and setting.
- Geographic adjustment
- None
- Office vs facility
- Same
- Since 2026
- Unchanged
- CMS updates
- Quarterly
Medicare pays the lesser of the lab’s charge and this amount. Patients usually owe no Part B deductible or coinsurance for covered clinical lab tests.
On this page 7 sections
What 0020M covers
0020M identifies analysis of DNA extracted from central nervous system tumor tissue using a methylation array that examines 30,000 DNA loci. A diagnostic algorithm processes the methylation analysis and reports the probability that the tumor matches a reference tumor subclass. The code's distinguishing elements are the CNS tumor tissue source, 30,000-locus methylation array, and probability-based reference-subclass result.
Report 0020M for this CNS tumor tissue methylation-array analysis. Medicare pays the code under the Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule (CLFS) at one national amount that applies in every state and locality, without geographic or office-versus-facility adjustment. The 2026 national CLFS amount is $2,500.00. Payment for 0020M is through the CLFS; it has no physician fee schedule payment.
This summary was written with AI assistance from CMS Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule data. Amounts on this page come directly from CMS files.
How Medicare pays 0020M
Clinical lab tests aren’t priced like physician services. They’re paid from their own fee schedule, with its own rules. See the whole lab fee schedule.
One national amount
CMS sets a single Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule amount for 0020M. There’s no geographic (GPCI) adjustment, so it pays the same in every state and payment locality.
No office or facility rate
Lab tests aren’t built from relative value units, so there’s no office and facility split: the place of service doesn’t change the CLFS amount.
Updated every quarter
CMS republishes the CLFS each quarter. New tests, often proprietary laboratory analyses (PLA codes), join during the year; existing amounts are updated each January.
Not on the physician fee schedule
The physician fee schedule doesn’t list 0020M: Medicare pays the test only from the CLFS.
0020M on the lab fee schedule since 2024
0020M · CLFS 2026 Q4 (current)
$2,500.00
Unchanged since Jan 1, 2026
Every change on file
- Jan 1, 2026 · CLFS 2026 Q1MAC-priced → $2,500.00
9 quarterly CLFS releases on file, first CLFS 2024 Q4. A code missing from a quarter wasn’t on that release.
0020M compared with similar tests
- 81479Molecular pathologyUnlisted procedureNo national amount
- 0020M identifies the specific 30,000-locus CNS tumor methylation-array assay. 81479 is an unlisted molecular pathology code for a service that lacks a more specific code.
- 88307Tissue pathology examLevel V specimen$245.21–$381.42
- 88307 reports a surgical pathology examination of tissue; 0020M reports DNA methylation analysis with a probability of matching a reference tumor subclass.
- 88342Antibody stainFirst single antibody per specimen$97.65–$150.80
- 88342 reports an immunohistochemical stain using an antibody marker. 0020M analyzes tumor DNA methylation at 30,000 loci.
0020M billing questions
What specimen and method does 0020M describe?
The assay uses DNA extracted from central nervous system tumor tissue and analyzes methylation at 30,000 loci with an array.
What result does the assay report?
A diagnostic algorithm reports the probability that the tumor matches a reference tumor subclass.
How does 0020M differ from 81479?
0020M identifies this specific CNS tumor DNA methylation-array analysis. 81479 is an unlisted molecular pathology code for a service without a more specific code.
How does Medicare pay 0020M?
Medicare pays it under the CLFS at one national amount, without locality or office-versus-facility adjustment.
Is there a physician fee schedule payment for 0020M?
No. Medicare pays 0020M through the CLFS only.
Where this amount comes from
FeeBase reads lab amounts directly from the CMS Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule file for the quarter: one row per code, with its payment indicator and national amount. Contractor-priced tests are labeled, never given a made-up amount. Amounts are Medicare payment limits, not a patient’s bill or a commercial rate.
CMS CLFS 2026 Q4 · effective Oct 1, 2026 through the day before Jan 1, 2027
Show the CMS file line behind this amount
Fee sheets · Coming soon
Put 0020M and the rest of your codes on one sheet
Your codes at your locality, with payer contracts beside Medicare.
Join the waitlist