CPT code 85048: WBC count, automated method2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
Reports an automated count of white blood cells in a blood sample when a standalone leukocyte count, rather than a complete blood count, is performed.
Medicare pays $2.54 for 85048 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
$2.54
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 85048 covers
This laboratory service produces an automated total white blood cell count from blood. It reports the overall leukocyte number, not the distribution of white-cell types provided by a differential. Clinical laboratories and office-based laboratories may perform the test as a standalone count when a complete CBC is not being reported; it may be used to assess leukocyte levels or follow a condition or treatment.
Report one unit for each automated leukocyte count performed. If the testing is a complete CBC, report the CBC code matching whether an automated differential was performed rather than using 85048 for the full panel. Medicare pays 85048 only through the CLFS. Its 2026 national amount is $2.54, unchanged from 2020 through 2026; the same amount applies in every state and locality, without an office or 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 85048
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 85048. 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 85048 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
85048 on the lab fee schedule since 2020
85048 · CLFS 2026 Q4 (current)
$2.54
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.
85048 compared with similar tests
- 85004WBC differentialAutomated count$6.47
- 85048 reports a total automated white-cell count. 85004 is for an automated differential that distinguishes white-cell types.
- 85025Complete CBCAutomated differential$7.77
- 85025 represents a complete CBC with an automated differential; 85048 reports only the automated leukocyte count.
- 85027Complete CBCWithout automated differential$6.47
- 85027 represents a complete automated CBC without a differential. Use 85048 when the reported service is limited to the automated white-cell count.
- 85007Manual differentialMicroscopic white cell count$3.80
- 85007 reports a blood-smear differential, while 85048 reports an automated total leukocyte count.
85048 billing questions
When should I report this instead of an automated differential?
Report 85048 for an automated total white blood cell count without a differential. Use 85004 when an automated differential is performed.
Is this the right code for a complete CBC?
No. A complete CBC includes additional blood-count measurements; select 85025 when an automated differential is performed or 85027 when it is not.
How many units should I report?
Report one unit for each automated leukocyte count performed. The unit represents the test, not the number of white blood cells counted.
Does this code include blood-smear interpretation?
No. 85048 reports an automated total leukocyte count, not interpretation of a blood smear. Code 85060 identifies blood-smear interpretation.
How does Medicare pay this test?
Medicare pays 85048 through the CLFS at one national amount across localities, without an 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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