CPT code 80176: Lidocaine assay, drug concentration2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
Laboratory assay measuring lidocaine concentration, reported when lidocaine is the medication analyte in a requested drug-level evaluation.
Medicare pays $14.69 for 80176 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
$14.69
In effect since Jan 1, 2026. The same amount in every state, payment locality and setting.
- Geographic adjustment
- None
- Office vs facility
- Same
- Since 2020
- 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 80176 covers
80176 is the laboratory assay for measuring lidocaine concentration. Select it when lidocaine is the analyte tested; a different drug-level assay code applies when the laboratory measures another medication. The result identifies the measured lidocaine level for the ordering clinician’s assessment of drug exposure. Reporting depends on the analyte actually measured, not simply on the reason for requesting therapeutic drug monitoring. This code describes the assay, rather than lidocaine administration or treatment.
Medicare pays 80176 through the CLFS at one national amount that applies across states and localities, with no geographic adjustment or office/facility variation. The 2026 national CLFS amount is $14.69 and has remained unchanged from 2020 through 2026. The test is paid only through the CLFS and is excluded from the physician fee schedule.
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 80176
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 80176. 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.
Excluded from the physician fee schedule
The physician fee schedule lists 80176 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
80176 on the lab fee schedule since 2020
80176 · CLFS 2026 Q4 (current)
$14.69
Unchanged since Jan 1, 2020
27 quarterly CLFS releases on file, first CLFS 2020 Q1. A code missing from a quarter wasn’t on that release.
80176 compared with similar tests
- 80181Flecainide assay$18.64
- 80176 measures lidocaine; 80181 measures flecainide. Choose according to the drug assayed.
- 80178Lithium levelQuantitative drug monitoring$6.61
- 80176 measures lidocaine, while 80178 measures lithium. The requested analyte determines the code.
- 80170Gentamicin assayTherapeutic drug monitoring$16.38
- 80176 is the lidocaine assay; 80170 is the gentamicin assay. Select based on the medication measured.
80176 billing questions
When should 80176 be selected instead of another drug assay code?
Use 80176 when the laboratory measures lidocaine. Select the code for the specific analyte when testing another medication.
How does 80176 differ from 80181?
80176 is the lidocaine assay; 80181 is the flecainide assay. Select according to the medication measured.
How does Medicare pay for 80176?
Medicare pays 80176 through the CLFS at one national amount across localities, without an office or facility difference.
What documentation supports reporting 80176?
Documentation should identify lidocaine as the analyte measured and support the assay that was ordered.
Does 80176 describe lidocaine administration?
No. It identifies the laboratory assay measuring lidocaine concentration, not administration of the medication.
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
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