CPT code 86835: HLA antibody panel, class II, semiquantitative2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
Reports a solid-phase assessment of HLA class II antibodies with semiquantitative results, often for transplant evaluation or antibody monitoring.
Medicare pays $322.96 for 86835 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
$322.96
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 86835 covers
Code 86835 reports a solid-phase test for antibodies to HLA class II antigens, using methods such as bead-based assays, ELISA, or flow cytometry. The semiquantitative result may express antibody reactivity by a measure such as titer. Histocompatibility and immunology laboratories commonly perform the assay for transplant evaluation or monitoring, including assessment of antibodies relevant to a transplanted organ.
Report this code for the class II semiquantitative panel, rather than a class I panel or a qualitative class II antibody test. Medicare pays it only under the CLFS. The 2026 national CLFS amount is $322.96, unchanged from 2020 through 2026; the same amount applies across states and localities, without an office or facility difference. The test has no separate physician fee schedule payment.
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 86835
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 86835. 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 86835 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
86835 on the lab fee schedule since 2020
86835 · CLFS 2026 Q4 (current)
$322.96
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.
86835 compared with similar tests
- 86834HLA antibody panelClass I, semiquantitative$357.56
- Both are semiquantitative solid-phase HLA antibody panels; 86835 is for class II and 86834 is for class I.
- 86833HLA antibodyHigh-definition qualitative$325.80
- Both assess HLA class II antibodies, but 86835 reports semiquantitative results while 86833 is the high-definition qualitative test.
- 86829HLA antibodiesClass I or II, qualitative$64.19
- 86829 is a qualitative antibody test covering HLA class I and II; 86835 is a semiquantitative panel focused on class II.
- 86828HLA antibodiesBoth HLA classes$64.19
- 86828 is a qualitative HLA class I and II antibody test; 86835 is a semiquantitative panel focused on class II.
86835 billing questions
How does 86835 differ from 86834?
86835 is the semiquantitative solid-phase panel for HLA class II antibodies. Code 86834 is the corresponding semiquantitative panel for HLA class I antibodies.
When should 86835 be chosen over 86833?
Use 86835 for a semiquantitative class II antibody panel. Code 86833 describes a high-definition qualitative class II antibody assessment.
Which assay methods may be used?
Solid-phase methods include bead-based assays, ELISA, and flow cytometry.
Is a physician interpretation billed separately?
Medicare pays code 86835 through the CLFS, with no separate physician fee schedule payment for this test.
Does Medicare payment vary by location or setting?
No. The CLFS amount is national and applies across localities, without an office or 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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