CPT code 82542: Chromatography test, non-drug analytes, each specimen2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
Reports qualitative or quantitative column chromatography, with mass spectrometry when performed, for a non-drug analyte without a more specific code.
Medicare pays $24.09 for 82542 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
$24.09
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 82542 covers
82542 reports qualitative or quantitative chemical analysis of a non-drug analyte by column chromatography when no more specific assay code describes the analyte. The method may use high-performance liquid chromatography, liquid chromatography, or gas chromatography, and may include mass spectrometry. The code applies to the analytical method and analyte category, rather than identifying a particular analyte.
Report one unit for each specimen analyzed. Choose an analyte-specific code when one describes the test. Medicare pays 82542 under the CLFS at a single national amount in every state and locality, with no geographic adjustment or office/facility difference. The 2026 national CLFS amount is $24.09, unchanged since 2020. The test is paid only through the CLFS and 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 82542
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 82542. 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 82542 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
82542 on the lab fee schedule since 2020
82542 · CLFS 2026 Q4 (current)
$24.09
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.
82542 compared with similar tests
- 82530Free cortisolUnbound cortisol fraction$16.71
- 82530 identifies a free cortisol assay. Choose 82542 only for an eligible non-drug analyte without a more specific code, rather than using it for free cortisol.
- 82533CortisolTotal hormone measurement$16.30
- 82533 identifies a total cortisol assay. Use it for total cortisol instead of reporting the nonspecific chromatography code.
- 82565CreatinineBlood specimen$5.12
- 82565 is the analyte-specific code for creatinine. Use 82542 for a different non-drug analyte when no more specific code describes the analysis.
- 82570Urine creatinineUrine specimen$5.18
- 82570 identifies urine creatinine testing. It is more specific than 82542 when the test measures urine creatinine.
82542 billing questions
When should 82542 be selected instead of an analyte-specific assay code?
Use 82542 for a non-drug analyte analyzed by column chromatography when a more specific code for that analyte is not available. For a named analyte with a dedicated assay code, report that code instead.
How many units are reported?
Report one unit for each specimen analyzed. The code covers qualitative or quantitative analysis.
Does 82542 include mass spectrometry?
Mass spectrometry may be part of the column chromatography analysis when performed. It does not change the per-specimen reporting basis.
Can 82542 be reported for drug analysis?
No. 82542 is for non-drug analytes.
How does Medicare pay 82542?
Medicare pays it through the CLFS at one national rate across localities and office or facility settings. 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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