CPT code 87209: Parasite stain, complex special stain2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
Reports microscopic examination of a primary-source smear using a complex special stain to help identify parasites, including ova and parasites in stool.
Medicare pays $17.98 for 87209 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
$17.98
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 87209 covers
This service covers examining a primary-source smear with a complex special stain and interpreting the findings. Trichrome and iron hematoxylin are examples of stains used to show parasite structures. It is used in ova-and-parasite testing, including stool examinations, when a complex-stained smear is performed. Clinical laboratories perform and report this laboratory test.
Report 87209 for the complex-stain smear service, including interpretation; it is distinct from a parasite antigen test or routine wet mount. Medicare pays the test through the Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule (CLFS). The 2026 national CLFS amount is $17.98, unchanged from 2020 through 2026. The amount is the same across states and localities, with no geographic or office-versus-facility adjustment. The physician fee schedule excludes the test, so Medicare payment is through the CLFS.
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 87209
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 87209. 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 87209 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
87209 on the lab fee schedule since 2020
87209 · CLFS 2026 Q4 (current)
$17.98
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.
87209 compared with similar tests
- 87207Special stainInclusion bodies or parasites$5.99
- Choose 87209 for a complex special stain, such as trichrome or iron hematoxylin, on a primary-source smear for ova and parasites. Code 87207 describes a different special-stain smear service.
- 87210Wet mountSaline, India ink, or KOH$5.82
- Code 87210 is for examination by a saline or ink wet mount. Use 87209 when the laboratory performs and interprets the complex special-stained smear.
- 87177Ova and parasitesSmear and concentration$8.90
- Code 87177 represents an ova-and-parasite examination. Code 87209 identifies the complex special-stain smear service when it is also performed.
- 87205Gram stainPrimary-source smear$4.27
- Code 87205 is for a Gram-stained smear, not a complex special stain used to examine a primary-source smear for ova and parasites.
87209 billing questions
When should 87209 be reported instead of 87207?
Use 87209 for a complex special stain of a primary-source smear for ova and parasites, such as trichrome or iron hematoxylin. Code 87207 describes a different special-stain smear service.
How does 87209 differ from a wet mount?
Code 87209 represents a complex special-stained smear with interpretation. Code 87210 is the wet-mount service using saline or ink.
Is interpretation included in 87209?
Yes. Interpretation of the complex-stained smear is included in the service.
Can 87209 be reported with an ova-and-parasite examination?
It may be reported with 87177 when both the ova-and-parasite examination and the separately performed complex-stain smear are provided.
How does Medicare pay 87209?
Medicare pays 87209 through the CLFS at one national amount, with no locality or office-versus-facility adjustment. The physician fee schedule excludes the test.
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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