CPT code 86905: RBC antigen typing, other than ABO or Rh(D)2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
Serologic testing identifies red blood cell antigens beyond ABO and Rh(D), supporting extended blood typing and selection of compatible red-cell units.
Medicare pays $3.83 for 86905 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
$3.83
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 86905 covers
This serologic test determines whether red blood cells carry a specified antigen other than ABO or Rh(D). Transfusion services and reference blood banks commonly perform it when an extended red-cell phenotype is needed, such as when a patient has a clinically significant red-cell antibody and antigen-negative units must be selected. The result can also contribute to transfusion planning for patients with a history of alloantibodies.
Report one unit for each antigen tested. Distinguish this service from ABO grouping and Rh(D) typing, which identify separate blood-group characteristics, and from antigen testing performed on donor units. Medicare pays the test through the Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule only. The 2026 national CLFS amount is $3.83, unchanged since 2020. The same national amount applies across states and localities, without an office or facility payment difference.
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 86905
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 86905. 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 86905 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
86905 on the lab fee schedule since 2020
86905 · CLFS 2026 Q4 (current)
$3.83
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.
86905 compared with similar tests
- 86900ABO typingSerologic blood group$2.99
- 86900 reports ABO blood grouping. Choose 86905 when the test identifies a red-cell antigen outside the ABO system.
- 86901Rh typingD antigen$2.99
- 86901 reports Rh(D) typing. 86905 is for other red-cell antigens, not the D antigen.
- 86902Donor antigen testEach antigen tested$6.35
- 86902 is for serologic antigen typing of donor cells. 86905 is used for other red-cell antigen typing outside that donor-specific service.
- 86920Compatibility testImmediate spin, per unitNo national amount
- 86920 is a spin compatibility test between a patient and a blood unit; 86905 identifies a red-cell antigen.
86905 billing questions
How is 86905 different from ABO or Rh(D) typing?
86905 is for a red-cell antigen other than ABO or Rh(D). Report ABO grouping and Rh(D) typing under their separate codes when those tests are performed.
How many units should be reported?
Report one unit for each antigen tested. The record should support which antigen or antigens were evaluated.
When is extended red-cell antigen typing ordered?
It is commonly used in transfusion planning when a patient has a clinically significant red-cell antibody and antigen-negative units are needed.
Should 86905 be used for antigen testing of donor units?
Use 86902 for serologic antigen typing of donor cells. 86905 represents testing for red-cell antigens other than ABO or Rh(D), rather than the donor-specific service.
How does Medicare pay for 86905?
Medicare pays it through the CLFS only, at one national amount that applies across localities and settings.
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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