CPT code 86901: Rh typing, D antigen2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
Serologic testing determines whether red blood cells carry the Rh(D) antigen, supporting blood group assessment in transfusion and prenatal care.
Medicare pays $2.99 for 86901 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
$2.99
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 86901 covers
This serologic test determines whether a patient’s red blood cells carry the Rh(D) antigen. Hospital and independent laboratories commonly perform it as part of blood group testing for transfusion preparation and prenatal care. The result identifies the patient as Rh(D)-positive or Rh(D)-negative and helps guide blood bank decisions.
Report 86901 for the Rh(D) typing service. When ABO typing is also performed, report that separately with 86900; the two tests address different blood group characteristics. Medicare pays 86901 only through the Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule (CLFS), not the physician fee schedule. The 2026 national CLFS amount is $2.99, unchanged from 2020 through 2026. The same amount applies in every state and locality, with no geographic 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 86901
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 86901. 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 86901 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
86901 on the lab fee schedule since 2020
86901 · CLFS 2026 Q4 (current)
$2.99
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.
86901 compared with similar tests
- 86900ABO typingSerologic blood group$2.99
- 86900 reports ABO blood typing, while 86901 determines Rh(D) status. Report both when both tests are performed.
- 86906Rh phenotypeComplete Rh antigen profile$7.75
- 86906 is used for Rh phenotyping; 86901 is specific to determining whether the D antigen is present.
- 86905RBC antigen typingOther than ABO or Rh(D)$3.83
- 86905 covers red-cell antigen typing generally, whereas 86901 reports the specific Rh(D) typing service.
- 86904Serum antigen screenPer donor unit screened$16.34
- 86904 concerns blood typing using patient serum; 86901 determines Rh(D) antigen status on red blood cells.
86901 billing questions
Does 86901 include ABO typing?
No. 86901 determines Rh(D) status; report ABO typing separately with 86900 when it is performed.
When should 86901 be selected instead of 86906?
Use 86901 for Rh(D) antigen typing. Code 86906 describes serologic Rh phenotyping.
Is 86901 paid under the physician fee schedule?
No. Medicare pays this test through the CLFS only.
Does Medicare use a local rate for 86901?
No. The CLFS amount is national and applies across localities, without an office or 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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