CPT code 86705: Hepatitis B core antibody, igM antibody2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
Measures IgM antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen to help evaluate recent or acute hepatitis B infection and interpret hepatitis B serology.
Medicare pays $11.77 for 86705 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
$11.77
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 86705 covers
This serologic test measures IgM antibody to hepatitis B core antigen, usually in a blood specimen. Clinicians use it when evaluating suspected recent or acute hepatitis B infection; it can also help interpret a hepatitis B serology pattern. The result is considered alongside other markers, such as hepatitis B surface antigen and total core antibody. Laboratories perform and report the assay, commonly for specimens ordered by primary care, emergency, infectious disease, or liver disease clinicians.
Report this code for the IgM core antibody measurement, not for total core antibody or surface antibody testing. Each is a distinct analyte when performed. Medicare pays the test only through the CLFS. The 2026 national CLFS amount is $11.77, unchanged in each year from 2020 through 2026. One amount applies nationwide, without locality or office-versus-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 86705
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 86705. 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 86705 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
86705 on the lab fee schedule since 2020
86705 · CLFS 2026 Q4 (current)
$11.77
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.
86705 compared with similar tests
- 86704Core antibodyTotal antibody$12.05
- Use 86705 for the IgM core antibody measurement. Code 86704 represents total hepatitis B core antibody.
- 86706Surface antibodyHepatitis B$10.74
- Use 86706 for hepatitis B surface antibody testing; 86705 measures IgM antibody to hepatitis B core antigen.
- 87340HBsAg testSurface antigen immunoassay$10.33
- Code 87340 is for hepatitis B surface antigen testing, not antibody testing.
- 86709Hepatitis AIgM antibody$11.26
- Code 86709 measures IgM antibody to hepatitis A. Code 86705 is specific to the hepatitis B core antibody.
86705 billing questions
When is the IgM core antibody test used instead of total core antibody?
The IgM test helps evaluate recent or acute hepatitis B infection. Total core antibody measures a broader antibody response, so the tests answer different interpretive questions.
Is this test the same as hepatitis B surface antibody testing?
No. This code measures IgM antibody to hepatitis B core antigen; surface antibody testing measures antibody to a different hepatitis B antigen.
Is this code a complete hepatitis B panel?
No. It represents the IgM core antibody measurement alone. Other hepatitis B markers, such as surface antigen or surface antibody, are distinct tests when performed.
How does Medicare pay for this test?
Medicare pays it through the CLFS. The national amount applies across localities and does not vary between office and facility settings.
Can this test be billed with hepatitis B surface antigen testing?
They measure different markers and may be ordered together when evaluating hepatitis B. Report each test performed under its applicable code.
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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