CPT code 87275: Influenza B antigen, immunofluorescent detection2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
Immunofluorescent detection of influenza B antigen in respiratory specimens, reported when laboratory evaluation of an acute respiratory illness calls for a type-specific viral antigen result.
Medicare pays $12.25 for 87275 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
$12.25
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 87275 covers
This laboratory test detects influenza B viral antigen using immunofluorescence. It is used in evaluating patients with an acute respiratory illness when influenza B is suspected and a type-specific antigen result is needed. Testing is performed on respiratory material collected for laboratory analysis; the code identifies influenza B rather than influenza A or another respiratory virus. The result is an antigen finding, not a nucleic acid test result.
Report 87275 for the influenza B immunofluorescence test performed. It is paid only through the Medicare Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule (CLFS), with one national amount across localities and no geographic or office-versus-facility adjustment. The 2026 national CLFS amount is $12.25, unchanged since 2020. The code is excluded from the physician fee schedule.
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 87275
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 87275. 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 87275 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
87275 on the lab fee schedule since 2020
87275 · CLFS 2026 Q4 (current)
$12.25
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.
87275 compared with similar tests
- 87276Influenza A testAntigen immunofluorescence$16.07
- Use 87275 for influenza B antigen and 87276 for influenza A antigen when the laboratory uses immunofluorescence.
- 87631Respiratory virus panelThree to five targets$142.63
- This code is for a nucleic acid respiratory virus panel covering 3–5 targets; 87275 is a single-agent influenza B immunofluorescence test.
- 87280RSV antigenImmunofluorescent method$13.42
- 87280 detects respiratory syncytial virus antigen by immunofluorescence; 87275 detects influenza B antigen.
87275 billing questions
How does 87275 differ from 87276?
87275 detects influenza B antigen by immunofluorescence; 87276 is the corresponding influenza A antigen test. Select the code for the virus tested.
Is 87275 used for PCR testing?
No. It identifies immunofluorescent detection of influenza B antigen, not nucleic acid amplification testing.
Can 87275 and 87276 both be reported?
They may both be reported when the laboratory performs separate immunofluorescence tests for influenza B and influenza A.
How does Medicare pay 87275?
Medicare pays the test through the CLFS at one national amount, without locality or office-versus-facility adjustment.
Does this code include a physician interpretation?
The code is for the laboratory test and is paid only through the CLFS; it is excluded from the physician fee schedule.
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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