CPT code 86141: High-sensitivity CRP, high-sensitivity measurement2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
High-sensitivity C-reactive protein testing measures CRP to detect infection or inflammation when a high-sensitivity assay is ordered.
Medicare pays $12.95 for 86141 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
$12.95
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 86141 covers
Code 86141 reports a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) assay. The test measures CRP at low concentrations and is used to detect infection or inflammation when a high-sensitivity measurement is intended. Clinicians may request it as part of an inflammation evaluation; a clinical laboratory performs and reports the assay. High-sensitivity CRP is distinct from conventional CRP testing, reported with 86140.
Medicare pays 86141 through the Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule (CLFS), at one national amount that applies across states and localities, without an office-versus-facility difference. The 2026 national CLFS amount is $12.95, unchanged from 2020 through 2026. The test is paid through the CLFS rather than the physician fee schedule. Report 86141 for the high-sensitivity assay performed.
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 86141
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 86141. 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 86141 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
86141 on the lab fee schedule since 2020
86141 · CLFS 2026 Q4 (current)
$12.95
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.
86141 compared with similar tests
86141 billing questions
When should 86141 be used instead of 86140?
Use 86141 for a high-sensitivity CRP measurement. Code 86140 is for conventional CRP testing.
What does 86141 measure?
It measures C-reactive protein using a high-sensitivity assay for detection of infection or inflammation.
Can 86141 be reported with an erythrocyte sedimentation rate?
An erythrocyte sedimentation rate, such as 85652, measures a different marker and may be reported separately when ordered.
How does Medicare pay for 86141?
Medicare pays 86141 through the CLFS at one national amount across localities, with no office-versus-facility difference.
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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