CPT code 87279: Parainfluenza antigen, immunofluorescence, each type2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
Immunofluorescence testing detects parainfluenza virus antigen in a respiratory specimen when evaluating suspected viral respiratory infection.
Medicare pays $16.43 for 87279 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
$16.43
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 7 sections
What 87279 covers
This laboratory test uses immunofluorescence to detect parainfluenza virus antigen. It is generally performed on respiratory material, such as a nasopharyngeal specimen, when a clinician is evaluating a patient for viral respiratory illness. The result identifies antigen rather than isolating or growing the virus. Clinical laboratories perform and report the assay for providers treating patients in settings such as clinics and hospitals.
Report 87279 for each parainfluenza type tested; the code is not a general code for all respiratory virus testing. Medicare pays it under the CLFS, with one national amount applying in every state and locality and no office or facility payment difference. The 2026 national CLFS amount is $16.43, unchanged since 2020. The test is paid only from the CLFS and 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 87279
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 87279. 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 87279 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
87279 on the lab fee schedule since 2020
87279 · CLFS 2026 Q4 (current)
$16.43
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.
87279 compared with similar tests
- 87280RSV antigenImmunofluorescent method$13.42
- Use 87280 for respiratory syncytial virus antigen by immunofluorescence; 87279 is specific to parainfluenza virus.
- 87276Influenza A testAntigen immunofluorescence$16.07
- Use 87276 for influenza A antigen by immunofluorescence, not parainfluenza antigen.
- 87275Influenza B antigenImmunofluorescent detection$12.25
- Use 87275 for influenza B antigen by immunofluorescence, not parainfluenza antigen.
- 87260Adenovirus antigenImmunofluorescent detection$14.43
- Use 87260 for adenovirus antigen by immunofluorescence; 87279 identifies parainfluenza antigen.
87279 billing questions
When should 87279 be selected instead of an influenza antigen code?
Use 87279 when the immunofluorescence assay detects parainfluenza virus antigen. Codes 87275 and 87276 identify influenza B and influenza A antigen, respectively.
How should the code’s “each type” distinction be handled?
Report the code for each parainfluenza type tested, consistent with the assay performed and the laboratory report.
Is 87279 a viral culture code?
No. It represents immunofluorescent antigen detection; viral isolation methods use different codes.
Does Medicare pay 87279 under the physician fee schedule?
No. Medicare pays this test only through the CLFS.
Does the CLFS amount vary by locality or setting?
No. The code has one national CLFS amount, with no geographic adjustment or office-versus-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
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