CPT code 87280: RSV antigen, immunofluorescent method2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
Immunofluorescent RSV antigen testing detects respiratory syncytial virus in respiratory specimens during evaluation of suspected acute viral respiratory infection.
Medicare pays $13.42 for 87280 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
$13.42
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 87280 covers
This test detects respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) antigen using immunofluorescence. A clinical laboratory examines respiratory cells, commonly from a nasopharyngeal specimen, when a clinician is evaluating suspected RSV infection, including acute respiratory illness such as bronchiolitis. The result identifies RSV antigen; it is not a viral culture or a nucleic acid amplification result.
Report 87280 when the performed method is immunofluorescent antigen detection for RSV. Medicare pays the test from the Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule (CLFS), with one national amount across states and localities and no office or facility difference. The 2026 national CLFS amount is $13.42, 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 87280
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 87280. 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 87280 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
87280 on the lab fee schedule since 2020
87280 · CLFS 2026 Q4 (current)
$13.42
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.
87280 compared with similar tests
- 87275Influenza B antigenImmunofluorescent detection$12.25
- Use 87275 for influenza B antigen by immunofluorescence; 87280 is specific to RSV antigen.
- 87276Influenza A testAntigen immunofluorescence$16.07
- Use 87276 for influenza A antigen by immunofluorescence; 87280 is specific to RSV antigen.
- 87279Parainfluenza antigenImmunofluorescence, each type$16.43
- Use 87279 for parainfluenza antigen by immunofluorescence, not RSV antigen.
- 87634RSV testAmplified probe detection$70.20
- 87634 identifies RSV by nucleic acid amplification. Use 87280 when the performed method is immunofluorescent antigen detection.
87280 billing questions
When is 87280 the right code?
Use it when the laboratory detects RSV antigen by immunofluorescence. A nucleic acid amplification test or a viral culture uses a different code.
How does this differ from the influenza antigen codes?
87280 identifies RSV antigen. Codes 87275 and 87276 identify influenza B and influenza A antigen, respectively.
Does this code describe an RSV molecular test?
No. It describes immunofluorescent antigen detection; 87634 is used for RSV detection by nucleic acid amplification.
What specimen should be documented?
Document the respiratory specimen tested and the immunofluorescent method. Respiratory epithelial cells from a nasopharyngeal specimen are a common source.
How does Medicare pay for 87280?
Medicare pays it under the CLFS at one national amount, without geographic or office-versus-facility adjustment. It is not paid under 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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