CPT code 85044: Reticulocyte count, manual method2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
A manual reticulocyte count measures immature red blood cells in a blood specimen, helping assess marrow response during evaluation of anemia and related disorders.
Medicare pays $4.31 for 85044 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
$4.31
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 85044 covers
This hematology test counts reticulocytes, immature red blood cells, in a blood specimen. A manual method is used to assess red-cell production and the bone marrow’s response, commonly as part of an anemia evaluation or monitoring of a blood disorder or treatment. The laboratory reports the reticulocyte count for the ordering clinician to interpret alongside the patient’s blood counts and clinical findings.
Report 85044 for the manual count; use 85045 when the count is automated. A complete blood count may be ordered separately as part of the same evaluation. Medicare pays this test only through the CLFS. The 2026 national CLFS amount is $4.31, unchanged from 2020 through 2026. The amount is the same across states and localities, with no geographic or office-versus-facility adjustment.
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 85044
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 85044. 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 85044 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
85044 on the lab fee schedule since 2020
85044 · CLFS 2026 Q4 (current)
$4.31
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.
85044 compared with similar tests
- 85045Reticulocyte countAutomated method$3.99
- Both report reticulocyte counts; 85044 is manual, while 85045 is automated.
- 85046Reticulocyte testAdditional reticulocyte parameters$5.57
- 85044 reports a manual reticulocyte count. 85046 is the reticulocyte-related test that includes a hemoglobin concentration measurement.
- 85025Complete CBCAutomated differential$7.77
- 85025 reports a complete blood count with automated differential, not a manual reticulocyte count. A CBC may be ordered separately alongside 85044.
85044 billing questions
When should 85044 be reported instead of 85045?
Use 85044 for a manual reticulocyte count. Use 85045 when the reticulocyte count is automated.
Is a CBC included in 85044?
No. A CBC is a separate test and may be reported when ordered and performed as part of the same evaluation.
How does Medicare pay for 85044?
Medicare pays 85044 through the CLFS at one national amount across localities and settings. The test is paid only through the CLFS.
What documentation supports reporting a manual reticulocyte count?
Document the order and the clinical reason for assessing red-cell production, such as an anemia evaluation or monitoring a blood disorder or treatment.
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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