CPT code 87327: Cryptococcus antigen, multistep immunoassay2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
A multistep immunoassay detects Cryptococcus antigen, commonly in serum or cerebrospinal fluid when cryptococcal infection or meningitis is suspected.
Medicare pays $13.42 for 87327 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 7 sections
What 87327 covers
Code 87327 represents laboratory detection of Cryptococcus antigen by a multistep immunoassay; results may be qualitative or semiquantitative. Clinical laboratories commonly test serum or cerebrospinal fluid when cryptococcal infection is suspected, including during evaluation for cryptococcal meningitis. Testing may be part of the workup for patients with impaired immunity. This is antigen testing, distinct from fungal culture and antibody testing.
Report the Cryptococcus antigen assay performed under this code. Medicare pays the test only through the CLFS, at one national amount that applies across localities and office and facility settings. The 2026 national CLFS amount is $13.42, unchanged since 2020. The physician fee schedule excludes this test by statute. Clinical laboratories perform and report the assay.
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 87327
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 87327. 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 87327 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
87327 on the lab fee schedule since 2020
87327 · 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.
87327 compared with similar tests
- 87328Cryptosporidium antigenImmunoassay detection$13.82
- Use 87327 for Cryptococcus antigen and 87328 for Cryptosporidium antigen; the target organism determines the code.
- 87305Aspergillus antigenImmunoassay detection$11.98
- Code 87305 detects Aspergillus antigen. It is not the code for Cryptococcus antigen testing.
- 87385Histoplasma antigenQualitative or semiquantitative$13.25
- Code 87385 detects Histoplasma antigen. Choose 87327 when the assay targets Cryptococcus.
87327 billing questions
Which specimen is used for this test?
Serum and cerebrospinal fluid are commonly tested for Cryptococcus antigen. The ordering clinician selects the specimen based on the clinical evaluation.
How does this differ from code 87328?
Code 87327 detects Cryptococcus antigen; code 87328 detects Cryptosporidium antigen. Select the code for the organism being tested.
Does this code describe a culture or antibody test?
No. It describes antigen detection by multistep immunoassay, not fungal culture or antibody testing.
How does Medicare pay for this test?
Medicare pays the test through the CLFS using one national amount across localities and office and facility settings.
How does this differ from code 87305?
Code 87305 detects Aspergillus antigen. Code 87327 is for testing that targets Cryptococcus antigen.
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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