CPT code 83051: Plasma hemoglobin, hemoglobin in plasma2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
Measures hemoglobin circulating in plasma to support evaluation of intravascular red-cell destruction and suspected hemolysis, including a possible transfusion-related event.
Medicare pays $7.31 for 83051 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
$7.31
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 83051 covers
Plasma hemoglobin testing measures hemoglobin in the liquid portion of blood rather than hemoglobin contained within intact red cells. Clinicians may order it when intravascular red-cell destruction is suspected, including during evaluation of a possible transfusion-related hemolytic event. Hospital and reference laboratories perform the assay on a plasma specimen, and clinicians interpret the result alongside the patient’s presentation and other hemolysis findings.
Report 83051 for the plasma hemoglobin measurement; it is distinct from hemoglobin characterization by electrophoresis and hemoglobin measured in urine. Medicare pays the test only through the CLFS, at one national rate across states and localities, with no office-versus-facility difference. The 2026 national CLFS amount is $7.31, unchanged each year from 2020 through 2026.
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 83051
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 83051. 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 83051 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
83051 on the lab fee schedule since 2020
83051 · CLFS 2026 Q4 (current)
$7.31
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.
83051 compared with similar tests
- 83050MethemoglobinQuantitative$8.20
- 83051 measures hemoglobin in plasma; 83050 measures methemoglobin. Choose based on the specific analyte tested.
- 83069Urine hemoglobinUrine specimen$3.95
- 83051 is for hemoglobin in plasma, while 83069 concerns hemoglobin in urine. The specimen and clinical question distinguish them.
- 83020Hemoglobin electrophoresisFractionation by electrophoresis$12.87
- 83051 measures plasma hemoglobin; 83020 evaluates hemoglobin fractions by electrophoresis, such as when characterizing a hemoglobin variant.
83051 billing questions
How is 83051 different from a methemoglobin test?
83051 measures hemoglobin in plasma. Codes 83045 and 83050 concern methemoglobin, a different form of hemoglobin.
What specimen is associated with 83051?
The test measures hemoglobin in plasma. Code 83069 concerns hemoglobin in urine instead.
Does 83051 include haptoglobin testing?
No. Plasma hemoglobin and haptoglobin are different measurements; report haptoglobin separately when that test is performed.
How does Medicare pay for 83051?
Medicare pays 83051 through the CLFS at a single national rate, with no locality or office-versus-facility difference.
What should the documentation identify?
Document the plasma hemoglobin test and its clinical purpose, such as evaluation of suspected intravascular hemolysis.
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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