CPT code 82024: ACTH assay, hormone level2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
This assay measures adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), often ordered with cortisol testing during evaluation of adrenal function.
Medicare pays $38.62 for 82024 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
$38.62
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 82024 covers
ACTH is a pituitary hormone that signals the adrenal glands to produce cortisol. Clinicians order an ACTH level when evaluating adrenal function, including suspected adrenal insufficiency or cortisol excess. ACTH is often interpreted with a cortisol measurement because the paired results can help assess whether an abnormal cortisol pattern is associated with pituitary signaling or adrenal function. The assay is performed on plasma and is commonly ordered for patients with endocrine concerns.
Report 82024 for the ACTH assay itself; it is distinct from a cortisol assay and from a dynamic stimulation study. Medicare pays the test only under the CLFS at one national amount: $38.62 in 2026, unchanged since 2020. The amount is the same across states and localities, with no office-versus-facility difference. The code 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 82024
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 82024. 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 82024 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
82024 on the lab fee schedule since 2020
82024 · CLFS 2026 Q4 (current)
$38.62
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.
82024 compared with similar tests
- 82533CortisolTotal hormone measurement$16.30
- 82533 measures cortisol; 82024 measures ACTH. The distinct assays may be ordered together to assess adrenal function.
- 80400ACTH panelTwo cortisol measurements$32.62
- 80400 represents an ACTH stimulation panel, a dynamic adrenal evaluation. Code 82024 is for measuring ACTH in a specimen.
- 82088AldosteroneHormone level$40.75
- 82088 measures aldosterone, a different hormone. Use 82024 for an ACTH measurement, not an aldosterone result.
82024 billing questions
When should 82024 be reported instead of a cortisol assay?
Report 82024 for an ACTH measurement. A cortisol assay measures a different hormone, and clinicians may order both to evaluate adrenal function.
Is 82024 the code for an ACTH stimulation test?
No. It represents measurement of ACTH in a specimen, not a dynamic stimulation study.
What specimen is used for this assay?
The assay is performed on plasma.
Can a cortisol assay be reported with 82024?
Yes, when both distinct assays are ordered and performed. Cortisol testing measures a different hormone.
How does Medicare pay for 82024?
Medicare pays it only under the CLFS at one national amount, with no geographic or office-versus-facility adjustment. It is excluded from the physician fee schedule.
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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