CPT code 82272: Fecal occult blood, peroxidase method, non-screening2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
Qualitative peroxidase-based testing detects occult blood in stool for diagnostic evaluation, reported for one to three simultaneous determinations outside colorectal-neoplasm screening.
Medicare pays $4.23 for 82272 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
$4.23
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 82272 covers
This test detects occult blood in feces through peroxidase activity, commonly using a guaiac-based reaction. It is reported for qualitative testing of one to three simultaneous determinations when the purpose is evaluation of a non-screening concern, such as suspected gastrointestinal blood loss. A physician office or clinical laboratory may perform the test on a stool specimen. It is distinct from colorectal-neoplasm screening and from fecal immunochemical testing.
Report one code for the test, which covers one to three simultaneous determinations. Medicare pays the test through the Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule (CLFS); the 2026 national amount is $4.23, unchanged since 2020. The CLFS amount is the same across localities and settings, without geographic or office-versus-facility adjustment. There is no separate physician fee schedule payment for the test.
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 82272
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 82272. 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 82272 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
82272 on the lab fee schedule since 2020
82272 · CLFS 2026 Q4 (current)
$4.23
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.
82272 compared with similar tests
- 82270Fecal occult bloodThree consecutive stool samples$4.38
- Both codes cover qualitative fecal testing by peroxidase activity for one to three determinations. Choose 82270 for colorectal-neoplasm screening and 82272 for other clinical purposes.
- 82274FIT stool testImmunoassay, 1–3 determinations$15.92
- 82274 identifies fecal occult blood testing by an immunochemical method; 82272 identifies testing by peroxidase activity, commonly a guaiac reaction.
- 82271Occult blood testNonfecal specimen$5.32
- 82271 is for occult blood testing of a source other than feces. Use 82272 for stool specimens.
82272 billing questions
When should 82272 be reported instead of 82270?
Use 82272 for qualitative peroxidase-based fecal occult blood testing performed for a purpose other than colorectal-neoplasm screening. Use 82270 when testing is performed for colorectal-neoplasm screening.
How does 82272 differ from 82274?
82272 identifies fecal occult blood testing by peroxidase activity, commonly a guaiac reaction. 82274 is for fecal occult blood testing by an immunochemical method.
How many units should be reported?
The code covers one to three simultaneous determinations. Report one code for the test rather than a separate unit for each determination within that range.
Is there a separate physician fee schedule payment for 82272?
No. Medicare pays this test through the CLFS.
Does the Medicare amount vary by location or setting?
No. The CLFS uses one national amount for this code across localities and settings, with no geographic or office-versus-facility adjustment.
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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