CPT code 87661: Trichomonas test, amplified nucleic acid2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
This laboratory assay uses nucleic acid amplification to detect Trichomonas vaginalis and is reported for testing for that organism.
Medicare pays $35.09 for 87661 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 87661 covers
87661 reports laboratory detection of Trichomonas vaginalis genetic material using nucleic acid amplification. Clinicians order the assay when evaluating possible trichomoniasis, including during assessment for a sexually transmitted infection. The laboratory reports the result for the organism tested; this code distinguishes amplified detection from the direct-probe approach represented by 87660. It identifies the laboratory assay rather than a broader vaginitis panel.
Medicare pays 87661 under the CLFS at one national amount that applies across states and localities, without an office-versus-facility payment difference. The 2026 national amount is $35.09 and has remained unchanged from 2020 through 2026. The physician fee schedule excludes the test by statute, so 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 87661
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 87661. 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 87661 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
87661 on the lab fee schedule since 2020
87661 · 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.
87661 compared with similar tests
- 87660Trichomonas testDirect probe$20.05
- Both tests target Trichomonas vaginalis, but 87660 is for direct-probe detection and 87661 is for amplified nucleic acid detection.
- 87491Chlamydia testAmplified nucleic acid detection$35.09
- 87491 detects Chlamydia trachomatis; 87661 detects Trichomonas vaginalis.
- 87591Gonorrhea testAmplified DNA probe$35.09
- 87591 detects Neisseria gonorrhoeae; 87661 detects Trichomonas vaginalis.
87661 billing questions
How does 87661 differ from 87660?
87661 identifies amplified nucleic acid detection for Trichomonas vaginalis. 87660 identifies direct-probe detection, so select the code matching the method performed.
What organism does 87661 test for?
It detects Trichomonas vaginalis genetic material using nucleic acid amplification.
Can 87661 be reported with chlamydia or gonorrhea testing?
87661 reports testing for Trichomonas vaginalis, while 87491 and 87591 report testing for different organisms. They may be reported together when those separate assays are performed.
Is 87661 paid under the physician fee schedule?
No. Medicare pays 87661 through the CLFS; the physician fee schedule excludes the test by statute.
Does Medicare adjust payment for locality or setting?
No. The CLFS amount is national and has no locality or office-versus-facility adjustment.
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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