CPT code 82726: Fatty acid test, very long chain2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
Measures very long chain fatty acid levels in plasma to support evaluation of suspected X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy and other peroxisomal disorders.
Medicare pays $19.75 for 82726 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
$19.75
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 82726 covers
This assay measures very long chain fatty acid levels, which can be abnormal when peroxisomal fatty acid metabolism is impaired. Clinicians commonly order it when evaluating suspected X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy or another peroxisomal disorder. Clinical laboratories perform the assay on a blood specimen, typically plasma.
Report 82726 for the very long chain fatty acid assay, distinguishing it from broader blood fatty acid testing and fecal fat testing. Medicare pays 82726 through the CLFS at one nationally set amount that applies across states and localities, with no office-versus-facility payment difference. The 2026 national CLFS amount is $19.75 and has remained 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 82726
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 82726. 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 82726 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
82726 on the lab fee schedule since 2020
82726 · CLFS 2026 Q4 (current)
$19.75
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.
82726 compared with similar tests
- 82725Blood fatty acidsNonesterified fatty acids$18.77
- 82726 is specific to very long chain fatty acid levels. Code 82725 describes a blood fatty acid assay.
- 82705Stool fat testQualitative$5.10
- 82705 is qualitative fecal fat testing; 82726 measures very long chain fatty acids in blood.
- 82710Fecal fatQuantitative stool lipids$16.80
- 82710 is quantitative fecal fat testing, not a blood assay for very long chain fatty acids.
82726 billing questions
When should 82726 be reported instead of 82725?
Use 82726 for testing specifically directed at very long chain fatty acid levels. Code 82725 describes a blood fatty acid assay.
Is 82726 a fecal fat test?
No. It measures very long chain fatty acid levels in blood. Fecal fat testing is reported with different codes, such as 82705 or 82710.
How does Medicare pay for 82726?
Medicare pays this test through the CLFS at one national amount, with no locality or office-versus-facility difference.
What clinical evaluation may include this test?
Clinicians may order it when evaluating suspected X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy or another disorder affecting peroxisomal fatty acid metabolism.
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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