CPT code 82016: Acylcarnitines, qualitative, specimen-based2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
Qualitative acylcarnitine analysis is reported per specimen as part of chemical testing for a suspected genetic disorder.
Medicare pays $16.49 for 82016 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
$16.49
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 82016 covers
82016 reports qualitative chemical analysis of acylcarnitines in a specimen as part of testing for a genetic disorder. The result is qualitative rather than a quantitative measurement. A clinical laboratory reports the service when it performs this analysis; the code's specimen-based wording makes each analyzed specimen the reporting unit.
Report one unit for each specimen analyzed. Use 82017 when the laboratory performs quantitative acylcarnitine analysis. Medicare pays 82016 through the CLFS at a single national amount, with the same payment across localities and no office or facility difference. The 2026 national CLFS amount is $16.49, unchanged from 2020 through 2026. The code is excluded from the physician fee schedule and is paid only through 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 82016
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 82016. 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 82016 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
82016 on the lab fee schedule since 2020
82016 · CLFS 2026 Q4 (current)
$16.49
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.
82016 compared with similar tests
- 82017AcylcarnitinesQuantitative per specimen$16.87
- Both codes concern acylcarnitines. Choose 82016 for qualitative analysis and 82017 for quantitative analysis.
- 82009Ketone testQualitative result$4.52
- 82009 is qualitative ketone-body testing; it measures ketones, not acylcarnitines.
- 82010Ketone bodiesQuantitative$8.17
- 82010 is quantitative ketone-body testing. Use 82016 for qualitative acylcarnitine analysis.
82016 billing questions
When should 82016 be used instead of 82017?
Use 82016 for qualitative acylcarnitine analysis. Use 82017 when the laboratory performs quantitative analysis.
How many units are reported?
Report one unit for each specimen analyzed.
Does Medicare pay 82016 under the physician fee schedule?
No. Medicare pays this test through the CLFS; it is excluded from the physician fee schedule.
Does payment vary by locality or care setting?
No. The CLFS uses one national amount for this code across localities, with no office or facility 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
Fee sheets · Coming soon
Put 82016 and the rest of your codes on one sheet
Your codes at your locality, with payer contracts beside Medicare.
Join the waitlist