CPT code 82528: Corticosterone assay, hormone level measurement2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
Measures corticosterone in a clinical laboratory assay; report 82528 when the test performed specifically determines this hormone level.
Medicare pays $22.52 for 82528 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
$22.52
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 7 sections
What 82528 covers
Code 82528 identifies a laboratory assay that measures corticosterone, a hormone level. It distinguishes corticosterone testing from cortisol testing: free cortisol and total cortisol are separate analytes reported with different codes. The measured analyte determines whether 82528 or a cortisol code is appropriate: code 82530 identifies free cortisol, while 82533 identifies total cortisol. The code applies when the laboratory measures corticosterone specifically, rather than another hormone.
Medicare pays 82528 through the CLFS at one nationally set amount that applies in every state and locality, without geographic or office-versus-facility adjustment. The 2026 national CLFS amount is $22.52, unchanged since 2020. The test is paid only through the CLFS and 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 82528
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 82528. 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 82528 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
82528 on the lab fee schedule since 2020
82528 · CLFS 2026 Q4 (current)
$22.52
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.
82528 compared with similar tests
82528 billing questions
What does 82528 measure?
It identifies a laboratory assay measuring corticosterone. Use it when the test performed determines corticosterone, not another hormone.
How does 82528 differ from cortisol codes?
82528 is for corticosterone. Code 82530 identifies free cortisol, and 82533 identifies total cortisol.
What should the documentation support?
It should support that the assay measured corticosterone rather than cortisol or another analyte.
Does Medicare payment vary by locality or setting?
No. The CLFS amount applies nationally, without geographic or office-versus-facility adjustment.
Is 82528 paid under the physician fee schedule?
No. Medicare pays the test through the CLFS only.
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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