CPT code 81276: KRAS testing, beyond exon 22026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
KRAS additional-variant analysis evaluates targets such as codons 61 and 146 when testing extends beyond exon 2 variant analysis.
Medicare pays $193.25 for 81276 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
$193.25
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 81276 covers
KRAS additional-variant analysis evaluates gene variants beyond exon 2, with codons 61 and 146 as examples. Molecular pathology laboratories report the service when the KRAS targets analyzed include additional variants. It is used in molecular characterization of carcinomas. Code 81275 identifies KRAS exon 2 variant analysis; 81276 identifies additional KRAS variant analysis, so code selection follows the targets examined.
Medicare pays 81276 only through the CLFS. It is nationally priced at one amount in every state and locality, without geographic adjustment or an office/facility difference. The 2026 national CLFS amount is $193.25, unchanged since 2020. The test is paid only from the CLFS.
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 81276
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 81276. 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 81276 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
81276 on the lab fee schedule since 2020
81276 · CLFS 2026 Q4 (current)
$193.25
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.
81276 compared with similar tests
- 81275KRAS testingExon 2 variants$193.25
- Choose 81275 for KRAS exon 2 variants. Choose 81276 for additional KRAS variants, including examples such as codons 61 and 146.
- 81311NRAS variant testExons 2 and 3$295.79
- Code 81311 is for NRAS gene analysis; 81276 is for additional KRAS variant analysis.
- 81210BRAF testV600 variant analysis$175.40
- Code 81210 is for BRAF gene analysis; 81276 is for additional KRAS variant analysis.
81276 billing questions
How does 81276 differ from 81275?
Code 81275 identifies KRAS exon 2 variant analysis. Code 81276 identifies analysis of additional KRAS variants, with codons 61 and 146 as examples.
Which KRAS variants does 81276 identify?
It identifies additional variants beyond exon 2; codons 61 and 146 are examples.
Can 81276 be reported with 81275?
The codes identify different KRAS target groups: exon 2 variants for 81275 and additional variants for 81276. Code selection should reflect the KRAS targets analyzed.
What should the documentation identify?
The record should identify the KRAS variant analysis performed, including the additional targets examined.
How does Medicare pay 81276?
Medicare pays the test through the CLFS at one national amount across localities, without an office or facility payment 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
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