CPT code 83050: Methemoglobin, quantitative2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
Quantitative methemoglobin analysis measures the oxidized hemoglobin fraction when methemoglobinemia is suspected, such as with unexplained cyanosis or oxidant exposure.
Medicare pays $8.20 for 83050 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
$8.20
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 83050 covers
This laboratory analysis quantifies methemoglobin, the form of hemoglobin that cannot carry oxygen normally. It is used when methemoglobinemia is suspected, including evaluation of cyanosis or possible exposure to oxidant medications or chemicals. The test is generally performed on a blood specimen; co-oximetry can distinguish methemoglobin from other hemoglobin species. Hospitals and clinical laboratories may perform the analysis as part of evaluating a suspected dyshemoglobinemia.
Report 83050 for quantitative analysis, rather than the qualitative methemoglobin test. The code is paid only through the CLFS, at one national amount across localities, without geographic or office-versus-facility adjustment. The 2026 national CLFS amount is $8.20, unchanged since 2020. The physician fee schedule excludes this test by statute; payment is through the CLFS.
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 83050
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 83050. 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 83050 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
83050 on the lab fee schedule since 2020
83050 · CLFS 2026 Q4 (current)
$8.20
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.
83050 compared with similar tests
- 83045MethemoglobinQualitative analysis$6.49
- 83050 is for quantitative methemoglobin analysis; 83045 is for qualitative testing.
- 83060SulfhemoglobinQuantitative level$8.80
- 83060 quantifies sulfhemoglobin, a different abnormal hemoglobin species. Choose based on which dyshemoglobin is being measured.
- 83020Hemoglobin electrophoresisFractionation by electrophoresis$12.87
- 83020 evaluates hemoglobin patterns by electrophoresis; it is not the quantitative methemoglobin assay.
83050 billing questions
When should 83050 be selected instead of 83045?
Use 83050 when the laboratory quantifies methemoglobin. Code 83045 describes qualitative methemoglobin testing.
Is 83050 used to measure sulfhemoglobin?
No. It quantifies methemoglobin; 83060 is the code for quantitative sulfhemoglobin analysis.
What should the documentation support?
The record should identify the clinical reason for testing, such as suspected methemoglobinemia, cyanosis, or a possible oxidant exposure, and the quantitative test performed.
Does Medicare pay 83050 under the physician fee schedule?
No. Medicare pays this test through the CLFS; the physician fee schedule lists it as excluded by statute.
Does CLFS payment vary by locality or setting?
No. CLFS payment is one national amount per code, with no locality-based 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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