CPT code 88271: DNA probe, each probe2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
Reports molecular cytogenetic testing with a DNA probe, such as FISH, to detect genetic abnormalities in a patient specimen.
Medicare pays $21.42 for 88271 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
$21.42
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 88271 covers
This molecular cytogenetic service uses a DNA probe to evaluate a targeted genetic sequence in cells; fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) is an example. A cytogenetics laboratory reports the assay when testing for a genetic defect requires probe-based analysis. The probe’s signal pattern helps identify the targeted sequence or chromosomal change. The code is probe-based rather than a count of cells examined, distinguishing it from cytogenetic analysis codes organized by cell-count ranges.
Report one unit for each DNA probe. Medicare pays 88271 through the Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule (CLFS), with one national amount applying across localities and no office or facility difference. The 2026 national CLFS amount is $21.42, unchanged from 2020 through 2026. The test is paid only from 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 88271
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 88271. 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 88271 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
88271 on the lab fee schedule since 2020
88271 · CLFS 2026 Q4 (current)
$21.42
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.
88271 compared with similar tests
- 88272CytogeneticsThree to five cells$40.70
- 88271 counts DNA probes; 88272 reports cytogenetic analysis in a 3–5 cell range.
- 88273Chromosome probe test10–30 cells analyzed$34.81
- Use 88271 for each DNA probe. Code 88273 identifies cytogenetic analysis in a 10–30 cell range.
- 88274Interphase FISH25–99 cells analyzed$42.38
- Code 88274 reports cytogenetic analysis in a 25–99 cell range, while 88271 reports each DNA probe.
- 88275Interphase ISH100–300 cells$51.19
- Code 88275 identifies cytogenetic analysis in a 100–300 cell range; 88271 is counted by probe.
88271 billing questions
What does one unit represent?
One unit represents each DNA probe performed. Do not use the number of cells evaluated to determine units for this code.
How is this different from codes 88272–88275?
Code 88271 reports DNA probe testing by probe. Codes 88272–88275 distinguish cytogenetic analysis by the number of cells evaluated.
Is FISH reported with this code?
Yes. Code 88271 may describe DNA probe testing performed by FISH, with units based on the probes used.
How does Medicare pay for this test?
Medicare pays code 88271 through the CLFS at a single national amount, without a locality or office/facility adjustment. It is paid only from the CLFS.
Does the code represent a cell count or a probe?
It represents a probe. Use the related cytogenetic analysis codes when reporting the applicable cell-count range.
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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