CPT code 86021: WBC antibodies, antibody identification2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
Identifies antibodies directed against white blood cells, supporting evaluation of suspected immune-mediated leukocyte disorders or transfusion-related reactions.
Medicare pays $15.05 for 86021 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
$15.05
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 86021 covers
This laboratory test identifies antibodies directed against white blood cells. It may be used when evaluating suspected immune-mediated neutropenia or a transfusion-related reaction in which leukocyte antibodies are being investigated. Clinical laboratories perform the test as part of an immunohematology or diagnostic workup; it differs from testing directed at platelet antibodies.
Report 86021 for leukocyte antibody identification. Medicare pays the test through the CLFS at one national amount per code, with no locality or office-versus-facility adjustment. The 2026 national CLFS amount is $15.05, unchanged since 2020. Medicare pays the test only through the CLFS, not the physician fee schedule. Documentation should identify the clinical reason for testing and support that the test performed identified leukocyte antibodies.
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 86021
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 86021. 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 86021 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
86021 on the lab fee schedule since 2020
86021 · CLFS 2026 Q4 (current)
$15.05
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.
86021 compared with similar tests
- 86022Platelet antibodiesAntibody identification$18.37
- Choose 86021 for leukocyte-directed antibodies and 86022 for platelet-directed antibodies.
- 86078Blood bank serviceTransfusion reaction investigation$47.94–$67.29
- 86021 reports laboratory identification of leukocyte antibodies; 86078 reports a physician blood-bank service investigating a transfusion reaction.
- 86077Blood bank serviceComplex crossmatch interpretation$47.94–$67.29
- 86021 is leukocyte antibody testing. 86077 represents a physician blood-bank service for crossmatch evaluation.
86021 billing questions
How is 86021 different from 86022?
86021 identifies antibodies directed against white blood cells. Use 86022 for testing directed at platelet antibodies.
When might a clinician order leukocyte antibody identification?
It may be part of an evaluation for suspected immune-mediated neutropenia or a transfusion-related reaction involving possible leukocyte antibodies.
Does Medicare pay 86021 through the physician fee schedule?
No. Medicare pays this laboratory test through the CLFS; it is excluded from the physician fee schedule.
Does the CLFS amount vary by locality or place of service?
No. Medicare sets one national amount per code, with no geographic or office-versus-facility adjustment.
What should the record support for reporting 86021?
The record should support the clinical reason for testing and show that the service performed identified antibodies directed against leukocytes.
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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