CPT code 82728: Ferritin, blood ferritin level2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
Measures blood ferritin to assess iron stores, commonly during evaluation of iron deficiency, anemia, or possible iron overload.
Medicare pays $13.63 for 82728 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
$13.63
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 82728 covers
This laboratory assay measures ferritin, a blood protein that reflects the body’s iron stores. Clinicians commonly order it when evaluating suspected iron deficiency or anemia, monitoring iron status, or investigating possible iron overload. Ferritin can also rise with inflammation, so results are interpreted alongside the clinical picture and other laboratory findings. Clinical laboratories perform the test on a blood specimen, commonly serum.
Report 82728 for the ferritin assay performed; it is distinct from tests measuring circulating iron or iron-binding capacity. Medicare pays the test only through the CLFS, with one national amount per code and no locality or office-versus-facility adjustment. The 2026 national CLFS amount is $13.63, unchanged from 2020 through 2026. There is no physician-fee-schedule payment for this laboratory 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 82728
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 82728. 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 82728 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
82728 on the lab fee schedule since 2020
82728 · CLFS 2026 Q4 (current)
$13.63
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.
82728 compared with similar tests
- 83540Iron assaySerum iron concentration$6.47
- Choose 82728 for ferritin, which reflects iron stores; 83540 measures circulating serum iron. Both may be reported when both assays are performed.
- 83550Iron bindingBinding capacity$8.74
- 82728 measures ferritin, while 83550 measures iron-binding capacity. Select each code according to the assay performed.
- 84466TransferrinIron-binding protein level$12.76
- 84466 measures transferrin, an iron-transport protein. It is distinct from the ferritin measurement reported with 82728.
82728 billing questions
How does ferritin differ from a serum iron test?
Ferritin reflects stored iron, while a serum iron test measures iron circulating in the blood. They answer different questions and may be ordered together during an iron-status evaluation.
Can ferritin be reported with iron-binding capacity testing?
Yes. Ferritin and iron-binding capacity measure different aspects of iron status and may be performed and reported separately for the same evaluation.
What specimen is used for the ferritin test?
The test is performed on a blood specimen, commonly serum.
How does Medicare pay for 82728?
Medicare pays 82728 under the CLFS at one national amount per code. The amount is the same across localities and does not differ between office and facility settings.
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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