CPT code 87177: Ova and parasites, smear and concentration2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
Microscopic examination of a specimen for parasite eggs and organisms, including smear and concentration work, supports diagnostic evaluation of suspected parasitic infection.
Medicare pays $8.90 for 87177 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
$8.90
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 87177 covers
This laboratory examination looks for parasite eggs and other parasitic forms using direct smears and a concentration process, followed by identification when organisms are found. Stool is the typical specimen when symptoms or exposure raise concern for intestinal parasitic infection. Hospital, independent, and other clinical laboratories may perform and report the examination; the ordering clinician uses the result with the patient’s symptoms and history.
Report the examination for the specimen processed; direct smear, concentration, and identification are included in the service. Medicare pays the test only through the CLFS. The 2026 national CLFS amount is $8.90 and has remained unchanged since 2020. One amount applies in every state and locality, with no geographic adjustment or office or facility 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 87177
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 87177. 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 87177 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
87177 on the lab fee schedule since 2020
87177 · CLFS 2026 Q4 (current)
$8.90
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.
87177 compared with similar tests
- 87172Pinworm examPerianal tape preparation$4.27
- Use 87177 for a broader ova-and-parasite examination with smear and concentration work. Code 87172 is the distinct targeted pinworm examination.
- 87169Parasite examVisual inspection$4.31
- Use 87177 for microscopic ova-and-parasite examination of a specimen. Code 87169 applies when a submitted parasite is examined macroscopically.
- 87168Arthropod examVisual inspection$4.27
- Code 87177 is for ova-and-parasite smear examination. Code 87168 is for macroscopic examination of an arthropod.
87177 billing questions
When should this code be chosen instead of a pinworm examination?
Use this code for a broader ova-and-parasite examination involving smear and concentration work. A pinworm examination is a distinct, targeted test.
Does the service include concentration and organism identification?
Yes. Direct smear, concentration, and identification work are included; do not separately report them as components of this service.
What specimen is typically examined?
Stool is the typical specimen for evaluating suspected intestinal parasitic infection.
Does Medicare use a local rate for this test?
No. Medicare uses one national CLFS amount across localities, with no 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
Fee sheets
Put 87177 and the rest of your codes on one sheet
Your codes at your locality, with payer contracts beside Medicare.
Build my fee sheet