CPT code 87641: MRSA test, amplified nucleic acid2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
An amplified nucleic acid probe detects methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; report 87641 for this MRSA-targeted laboratory test rather than an assay targeting S. aureus generally.
Medicare pays $35.09 for 87641 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
$35.09
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 87641 covers
This laboratory molecular test detects nucleic acid from methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) using an amplified probe. Code 87641 identifies the MRSA-specific target; code 87640 describes amplified nucleic acid detection of S. aureus without the MRSA-specific designation. This is a nucleic-acid detection service, distinct from bacterial culture.
Report 87641 for the MRSA-targeted amplified nucleic acid test. Medicare pays it only under the Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule (CLFS). The 2026 national CLFS amount is $35.09, unchanged since 2020. One amount applies in every state and locality, with no geographic adjustment and no office-versus-facility payment difference. The code is excluded from the physician fee schedule by statute; Medicare payment for the test is through the CLFS.
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 87641
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 87641. 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 87641 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
87641 on the lab fee schedule since 2020
87641 · CLFS 2026 Q4 (current)
$35.09
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.
87641 compared with similar tests
- 87640S. aureus assayAmplified detection$35.09
- Choose 87641 for amplified nucleic acid detection targeting methicillin-resistant S. aureus. 87640 describes S. aureus detection without the MRSA-specific designation.
- 87081Culture screenScreening only$6.63
- 87641 is MRSA-specific amplified nucleic acid detection. 87081 describes presumptive culture screening.
- 87070Aerobic cultureNon-urine, blood, or stool$8.62
- 87641 detects MRSA nucleic acid by an amplified probe. 87070 applies when bacterial culture is performed.
87641 billing questions
How does 87641 differ from 87640?
87641 is for amplified nucleic acid detection of methicillin-resistant S. aureus. 87640 is for S. aureus detection without the MRSA-specific designation.
Does 87641 describe a culture?
No. It describes amplified nucleic acid detection of MRSA, not bacterial culture.
Does Medicare pay 87641 under the physician fee schedule?
No. Medicare pays this test through the CLFS.
Does the CLFS payment for 87641 vary by locality or setting?
No. One national amount applies in every state and locality, with no office-versus-facility payment 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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