CPT code 0333U: Liver cancer surveillance, cfDNA and serum-marker algorithm2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
This algorithm combines circulating cell-free DNA methylation analysis with serum tumor-marker measurements for hepatocellular carcinoma surveillance in high-risk patients.
Medicare pays $662.32 for 0333U 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
$662.32
In effect since Jan 1, 2026. The same amount in every state, payment locality and setting.
- Geographic adjustment
- None
- Office vs facility
- Same
- Since 2024
- 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 8 sections
What 0333U covers
0333U identifies a proprietary laboratory analysis for hepatocellular carcinoma surveillance in high-risk patients. The test analyzes methylation patterns in circulating cell-free DNA and measures serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), AFP-L3, and des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin (DCP). An algorithm combines these findings and reports a normal or abnormal result. The service is a combined surveillance test rather than a report of one isolated serum marker.
Report 0333U for the combined algorithmic analysis; its markers are components of the test, not separate instances of 0333U. Medicare pays the code through the CLFS at one national amount, with no locality or office-versus-facility adjustment. The 2026 national CLFS amount is $662.32, unchanged since 2024. The code is paid through the CLFS, with no separate 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 0333U
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 0333U. 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 0333U: Medicare pays the test only from the CLFS.
0333U on the lab fee schedule since 2022
0333U · CLFS 2026 Q4 (current)
$662.32
Unchanged since Jan 1, 2024
Every change on file
- Jan 1, 2024 · CLFS 2024 Q1MAC-priced → $662.32
17 quarterly CLFS releases on file, first CLFS 2022 Q4. A code missing from a quarter wasn’t on that release.
0333U compared with similar tests
- 82105AFP testSerum$16.77
- Use 82105 for alpha-fetoprotein measurement alone. 0333U combines cfDNA methylation analysis and multiple serum markers into an algorithmic result.
- 83951DCP testDes-gamma-carboxy prothrombin$64.41
- Use 83951 for a standalone DCP measurement. 0333U incorporates DCP with cfDNA methylation and other serum markers.
- 76705Abdominal ultrasoundTargeted organ or quadrant$76.30–$116.62
- 76705 is a limited abdominal ultrasound service that evaluates anatomy; 0333U is a laboratory algorithmic surveillance test.
0333U billing questions
What distinguishes 0333U from a standalone AFP test?
0333U combines cell-free DNA methylation analysis with AFP, AFP-L3, and DCP measurements in an algorithmic surveillance result. A standalone AFP test measures that marker alone.
Does 0333U report a normal or abnormal result?
Yes. The algorithm reports the combined test result as normal or abnormal.
Are the analytes separately reported under 0333U?
No. The code identifies the combined algorithmic test; the cfDNA and serum-marker findings contribute to its result.
Is there a separate physician interpretation payment?
No separate physician fee schedule payment is associated with 0333U. Medicare pays the code through the CLFS.
Does Medicare pay different amounts by locality or setting?
No. The CLFS amount is national and applies across localities, without an office-versus-facility difference.
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 0333U and the rest of your codes on one sheet
Your codes at your locality, with payer contracts beside Medicare.
Join the waitlist