CPT code 88262: Chromosome analysis, 15–20 cells, two karyotypes2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
Banding-based chromosome analysis of 15–20 cells, reported when a genetic evaluation calls for two karyotypes.
Medicare pays $125.49 for 88262 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
$125.49
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 88262 covers
A cytogenetics laboratory examines 15–20 cells for chromosome number and structure, using banding to prepare two karyotypes. The analysis supports evaluation of suspected chromosome abnormalities and genetic defects. Geneticists and other clinicians may order it when evaluating suspected constitutional or acquired chromosome changes; the laboratory performs and reports the analysis.
Select this code when the performed analysis matches its 15–20-cell count and two-karyotype scope. The cell count describes the analysis, not a per-cell unit; do not calculate units by multiplying the cells examined. Medicare pays the test through the CLFS, and payment is excluded from the physician fee schedule. The 2026 national CLFS amount is $125.49, unchanged from 2020 through 2026. The amount is the same across localities, with no geographic or office-versus-facility adjustment.
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 88262
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 88262. 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 88262 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
88262 on the lab fee schedule since 2020
88262 · CLFS 2026 Q4 (current)
$125.49
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.
88262 compared with similar tests
- 88261Chromosome analysisFive-cell count$264.34
- 88261 describes chromosome analysis at 5 cells; 88262 describes analysis of 15–20 cells. Select the code that matches the analysis performed and applicable count.
- 88263Chromosome analysis45 cells for mosaicism$150.29
- 88263 describes chromosome analysis at 45 cells, while 88262 describes analysis of 15–20 cells.
- 88264Chromosome analysis20-25 cells$144.61
- 88264 describes a 20–25-cell chromosome analysis; 88262 describes a 15–20-cell analysis. Select the code that matches the analysis performed and applicable count.
- 88271DNA probeEach probe$21.42
- 88271 is for cytogenetic DNA-probe analysis. Use 88262 for conventional chromosome analysis with banding and karyotypes.
88262 billing questions
How is this code distinguished from 88261 or 88263?
88261 describes chromosome analysis at 5 cells, and 88263 at 45 cells. This code describes analysis of 15–20 cells.
Is the code billed once per cell?
No. The 15–20-cell range describes the analysis, not a unit for each cell. Do not calculate units by multiplying the number of cells examined.
Does this code include chromosome banding and karyotypes?
Yes. The service includes banding and preparation of two karyotypes within the chromosome analysis.
How does Medicare pay for this test?
Medicare pays it through the CLFS, not the physician fee schedule. The national amount is the same across localities and does not vary between office and facility settings.
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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