CPT code 81456: RNA tumor panel, 51 or more genes2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
RNA-based genomic analysis of panels of at least 51 genes associated with solid-organ or hematolymphoid neoplasms or disorders.
Medicare pays $2,919.60 for 81456 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
$2,919.60
In effect since Jan 1, 2026. The same amount in every state, payment locality and setting.
- Geographic adjustment
- None
- Office vs facility
- Same
- Since 2023
- 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 81456 covers
This code represents RNA-based genomic sequence analysis of a panel of 51 or more genes associated with solid-organ or hematolymphoid neoplasms or disorders. A molecular pathology laboratory analyzes RNA to assess qualifying molecular features. Depending on the panel, analysis may assess sequence variants and copy-number variants or rearrangements, or isoform or messenger RNA expression levels. This is a broad panel code, not a single-gene RNA assay.
Report 81456 when the panel’s gene count, neoplasm or disorder scope, and RNA analysis fit the code. The Medicare Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule (CLFS) pays one nationally uniform amount per code across localities, without a geographic or office/facility adjustment. The 2026 national CLFS amount is $2,919.60, unchanged from 2023 through 2026. The test is paid only from the CLFS; it is excluded from the physician fee schedule by statute.
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 81456
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 81456. 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 81456 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
81456 on the lab fee schedule since 2023
81456 · CLFS 2026 Q4 (current)
$2,919.60
Unchanged since Jan 1, 2023
16 quarterly CLFS releases on file, first CLFS 2023 Q1. A code missing from a quarter wasn’t on that release.
81456 compared with similar tests
- 81455Tumor genomic panel51+ genes, DNA or DNA/RNA$2,919.60
- Both codes cover panels of 51 or more genes for solid-organ or hematolymphoid neoplasms. Choose 81456 for RNA analysis; 81455 describes DNA or DNA-and-RNA analysis.
- 81449Tumor RNA Panel5–50 genes, RNA analysis$597.91
- Both describe RNA analysis for solid-organ neoplasms, but 81449 is for panels of 5 to 50 genes; 81456 is for 51 or more.
- 81451RNA gene panelHematolymphoid, 5–50 genes$759.53
- Both describe RNA analysis for hematolymphoid neoplasms, but 81451 is for panels of 5 to 50 genes; 81456 is for 51 or more.
81456 billing questions
When should 81456 be selected instead of a smaller RNA panel code?
Use 81456 for an RNA analysis panel of 51 or more genes associated with solid-organ or hematolymphoid neoplasms or disorders. The 5-to-50-gene RNA panel codes are 81449 for solid-organ neoplasms and 81451 for hematolymphoid neoplasms.
Does 81456 describe DNA analysis as well as RNA analysis?
No. This code represents the RNA-analysis option. For a qualifying 51-or-more-gene solid-organ or hematolymphoid panel that includes DNA analysis, compare 81455.
What should the laboratory report support?
Documentation should identify the neoplasm or disorder, the RNA panel performed, and the genes analyzed. The record should support the 51-or-more-gene threshold and the reported RNA analysis.
How does Medicare pay for 81456?
Medicare pays the test through the CLFS at one national amount per code, with no locality or office/facility adjustment. The code is excluded from the physician fee schedule by statute.
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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