CPT code 87276: Influenza A test, antigen immunofluorescence2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
Detects influenza A viral antigen by immunofluorescence in a respiratory specimen when evaluating a patient with suspected influenza.
Medicare pays $16.07 for 87276 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
$16.07
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 87276 covers
This laboratory test detects influenza A virus antigen using an immunofluorescent technique. It is used in the evaluation of acute respiratory illness when influenza is suspected. Respiratory specimens, including nasopharyngeal swabs or aspirates, may be tested. Hospital and independent laboratories perform the assay, with testing also reported in office settings.
Report 87276 for the influenza A antigen immunofluorescence test; it identifies influenza A rather than influenza B or a combined influenza A/B result. Medicare pays the test under the CLFS, with one national amount applying in every locality and no office-versus-facility payment difference. The 2026 national CLFS amount is $16.07, unchanged since 2020. The test is paid only from the CLFS, not 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 87276
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 87276. 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 87276 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
87276 on the lab fee schedule since 2020
87276 · CLFS 2026 Q4 (current)
$16.07
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.
87276 compared with similar tests
- 87275Influenza B antigenImmunofluorescent detection$12.25
- Use 87276 for influenza A antigen and 87275 for influenza B antigen when the laboratory uses immunofluorescence.
- 87400Influenza antigenEach type tested$14.13
- 87400 describes influenza antigen detection by immunoassay; 87276 is specific to immunofluorescence.
- 87502Influenza NAATFirst two types or subtypes$95.80
- 87502 detects influenza A and B by nucleic acid amplification, while 87276 reports immunofluorescent detection of influenza A antigen.
87276 billing questions
How does 87276 differ from 87275?
87276 is for immunofluorescent detection of influenza A antigen. 87275 is the corresponding code for influenza B antigen.
Can 87276 be used for a combined influenza A and B assay?
No. This code identifies the influenza A immunofluorescence test. Select a code for the method and targets actually tested when the laboratory performs a combined assay.
What specimen is typically tested?
A respiratory specimen is used, such as a nasopharyngeal swab or aspirate collected for influenza evaluation.
How does Medicare pay for 87276?
Medicare pays it under the CLFS at one national amount across localities, without an office-versus-facility difference. It is paid only from the CLFS.
When would 87502 be considered instead?
87502 is an alternative when influenza A and B are detected using a nucleic acid amplification method rather than the immunofluorescence method reported with 87276.
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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