CPT code 81524: CNS tumor assay, methylation-based classification2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
This assay profiles DNA methylation in central nervous system tumor tissue to classify the tumor against reference families and classes.
Medicare has no national amount for 81524: it’s on the 2026 Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule as contractor-priced, so each Medicare Administrative Contractor sets the payment.
Medicare lab fee · CLFS 2026 Q4
Contractor-priced (CLFS indicator L)
Set by your MAC
CMS lists 81524 on the Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule without a national amount: each Medicare Administrative Contractor prices it for its jurisdiction.
- National amount
- None
- Priced by
- Each MAC
- Fee schedule
- Clinical lab
- CMS updates
- Quarterly
The contractor that processes the claim sets the amount for its jurisdiction. Patients usually owe no Part B deductible or coinsurance for covered clinical lab tests.
On this page 7 sections
What 81524 covers
The assay analyzes DNA extracted from formalin-fixed CNS tumor tissue at 10,000 or more methylation sites. An algorithm reports the probability of matching a reference tumor family and class; MGMT promoter methylation status may also be reported when performed. A molecular pathology laboratory performs the analysis on tumor tissue to support characterization of CNS tumors. The result reflects methylation-pattern analysis and algorithmic comparison with reference tumor families and classes.
Report 81524 for the methylation analysis; the 10,000-site threshold describes the assay, not a count of separately reported sites. Medicare pays 81524 through the CLFS, with each Medicare Administrative Contractor setting the payment. The test is paid only from the CLFS, not 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 81524
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.
Priced by each contractor
81524 carries CLFS indicator L: CMS publishes no national amount, and each Medicare Administrative Contractor sets the payment for its jurisdiction. Ask your MAC for its current amount.
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 81524 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
81524 compared with similar tests
- 81287MGMT methylationPromoter region analysis$124.64
- 81287 is for MGMT promoter methylation analysis alone. Use 81524 for broader CNS tumor methylation profiling with algorithmic tumor-family and class matching.
- 81540Tumor classifier92-gene mRNA assay$3,750.00
- 81540 is an oncology assay for a tumor of unknown origin. Code 81524 is specific to methylation-based classification of CNS tumor tissue.
81524 billing questions
What specimen does this assay use?
It uses DNA extracted from formalin-fixed tumor tissue. The assay analyzes methylation in CNS tumor tissue.
What does the result report?
An algorithm reports the probability of matching a reference tumor family and class. MGMT promoter methylation status may also be reported when performed.
How does 81524 differ from MGMT methylation analysis?
81524 provides broader CNS tumor methylation profiling and may include MGMT promoter status. Code 81287 is used for MGMT promoter methylation analysis alone.
Does the 10,000-site threshold determine the units?
No. The threshold describes the extent of the assay, not a separately reported count of methylation sites.
How does Medicare pay for 81524?
Medicare pays it through the CLFS, with each Medicare Administrative Contractor setting the payment. The test is paid only from the CLFS.
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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