CPT code 86665: VCA antibody, epstein-Barr virus2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
Measures antibodies to Epstein-Barr virus viral capsid antigens, reported when this specific EBV antibody target is tested.
Medicare pays $18.14 for 86665 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
$18.14
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 86665 covers
This laboratory serology test analyzes a specimen for antibodies to the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) viral capsid. It is used in evaluation of suspected EBV infection, including a mononucleosis-like illness. A clinical laboratory performs the analysis; clinicians interpret the result with the patient's presentation and other EBV serology when ordered. The code identifies the VCA antibody target, not antibody to EBV nuclear antigen.
Report 86665 for the VCA antibody analysis, distinguishing it from EBV antibody tests directed at other targets. Medicare pays this test only through the CLFS. The 2026 national CLFS amount is $18.14 and has remained unchanged since 2020. The same national amount applies across states and localities, without geographic or office-versus-facility adjustment. The test is excluded from the physician fee schedule, so its payment is through the CLFS.
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 86665
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 86665. 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 86665 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
86665 on the lab fee schedule since 2020
86665 · CLFS 2026 Q4 (current)
$18.14
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.
86665 compared with similar tests
- 86664EBNA antibodyNuclear antigen target$15.29
- Code 86665 is for antibody to EBV viral capsid antigens; 86664 targets EBV nuclear antigen. The laboratory test target distinguishes them.
- 86663EBV antibodyEarly antigen$13.12
- Code 86663 identifies another EBV antibody test, while 86665 specifically identifies VCA antibody testing. Match the code to the test target.
- 86645CMV antibodyIgM antibody$16.85
- Code 86645 is for CMV IgM antibody testing; 86665 is for antibody to EBV viral capsid antigens.
86665 billing questions
Which EBV antibody target does this code identify?
It identifies testing for antibodies to EBV viral capsid antigens. Use a different EBV antibody code when the laboratory tests another target.
How does this code differ from 86664?
Code 86665 identifies VCA antibody testing; 86664 identifies testing for antibody to EBV nuclear antigen.
How does this code differ from 86663?
Code 86665 specifically identifies the VCA antibody target. Choose the code that matches the EBV antibody test performed.
Does this code identify VCA IgM or VCA IgG?
The code identifies the viral capsid target, not an antibody class. The laboratory test and its documentation identify the class tested.
How does Medicare pay for this test?
Medicare pays it through the CLFS at one national amount across localities, without a geographic or 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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