CPT code 81050: Urine volume, per timed collection2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
81050 reports the measured volume of a timed urine collection, separately from urinalysis tests that assess chemical or microscopic findings.
Medicare pays $3.64 for 81050 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
$3.64
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 8 sections
What 81050 covers
81050 reports measurement of urine volume collected over a defined timed interval. It identifies the total volume of the collection rather than chemical or microscopic urine findings. A 24-hour collection is a common example. Volume may be reported alongside laboratory testing of a timed urine specimen when the collection volume is used to calculate analyte excretion.
Report one unit for each timed collection whose volume is measured; units represent collections, not milliliters or analytes. Record the collection interval and measured total volume with the laboratory record. Medicare pays 81050 under the CLFS. The 2026 national CLFS amount is $3.64, unchanged from 2020 through 2026, and applies across localities with no geographic or office/facility adjustment. The code is paid only under 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 81050
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 81050. 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 81050 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
81050 on the lab fee schedule since 2020
81050 · CLFS 2026 Q4 (current)
$3.64
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.
81050 compared with similar tests
- 81000UrinalysisManual, with microscopy$4.02
- 81000 reports manual urine testing with microscopic examination. Use 81050 for timed collection volume, not for microscopy.
- 81002UrinalysisManual, no microscopy$3.48
- 81002 reports manual urine testing without microscopic examination. It does not represent measurement of a timed collection's total volume.
- 81003UrinalysisAutomated, without microscopy$2.25
- 81003 reports automated urine testing without microscopic examination; 81050 measures the volume of urine collected over a timed interval.
81050 billing questions
Does 81050 report a complete urinalysis?
No. It reports measured volume from a timed urine collection, not chemical or microscopic urine testing.
How should units be counted?
Count each timed collection whose volume is measured. Units are not based on milliliters or the number of analytes tested.
Can 81050 be reported with urine analyte tests?
Yes, when volume measurement and analyte testing are both performed on the timed collection. Total volume can be used in calculating excretion over the collection period.
What collection details should the record include?
Document the timed collection interval and its measured total volume so the reported service is tied to the correct specimen.
How does Medicare pay 81050?
Medicare pays it only under the CLFS, at one national amount that applies across localities and in both office and facility settings.
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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