CPT code 86677: H. pylori antibody, serologic testing2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
This laboratory serology test measures antibodies to Helicobacter pylori and is reported when a clinician orders antibody testing during evaluation of possible infection.
Medicare pays $16.85 for 86677 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
$16.85
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 86677 covers
This serology test looks for antibodies to Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium associated with stomach inflammation and peptic ulcer disease. Clinicians may order it during evaluation of suspected H. pylori infection; laboratories generally perform the analysis on a blood specimen. Because antibodies can remain detectable after the infection has cleared, a positive antibody result alone may not establish current infection or confirm eradication after treatment. Stool antigen or urea breath testing assesses for infection by a different method.
Report 86677 for the antibody analysis performed. Medicare pays the service through the CLFS, with one national amount applying across states and localities and no office-versus-facility payment difference. The 2026 national CLFS amount is $16.85, unchanged since 2020. The test is paid only from the CLFS, not the physician fee schedule.
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 86677
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 86677. 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 86677 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
86677 on the lab fee schedule since 2020
86677 · CLFS 2026 Q4 (current)
$16.85
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.
86677 compared with similar tests
- 87338H. pylori antigenStool immunoassay$14.38
- 86677 measures antibodies and may reflect past exposure; 87338 detects H. pylori antigen in stool using a different method.
- 83013H. pylori Breath TestCarbon-13 urease analysis$67.36
- 86677 is a blood antibody test. 83013 analyzes the urea breath test and is a different approach to H. pylori testing.
86677 billing questions
When is 86677 appropriate instead of an H. pylori stool antigen test?
Use 86677 when the ordered service is serologic antibody testing. Stool antigen testing detects H. pylori antigen and uses a different method.
Can an antibody result confirm active H. pylori infection?
An antibody result may reflect current or past infection because antibodies can persist after the infection has cleared. It should not be treated by itself as confirmation of active infection or eradication.
Does 86677 identify antibody or antigen testing?
It identifies antibody analysis for H. pylori. Stool antigen testing is a different test.
How does Medicare pay for 86677?
Medicare pays 86677 through the CLFS using one national amount across localities, with no office-versus-facility difference. The service is paid only from the CLFS.
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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