CPT code 88273: Chromosome probe test, 10–30 cells analyzed2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
Targeted chromosomal in situ hybridization analyzing 10–30 cells is reported to assess suspected or known chromosome abnormalities, including selected microdeletions.
Medicare pays $34.81 for 88273 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
$34.81
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 88273 covers
Chromosomal in situ hybridization uses chromosome-specific probes to look for targeted genetic changes in cells, including suspected or known chromosomal abnormalities such as selected microdeletions. The laboratory analyzes 10–30 cells for this service. This targeted study differs from conventional chromosome analysis, which evaluates chromosomes through a different cytogenetic approach. Cytogenetics laboratories perform and report the test.
Report 88273 for analysis of 10–30 cells; the cell count describes the analysis, not a per-cell billing unit. Medicare pays the code under the CLFS at one national amount, with no locality or office-versus-facility adjustment. The 2026 national amount is $34.81, unchanged since 2020. The test is paid through the CLFS rather than the physician fee schedule.
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 88273
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 88273. 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 88273 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
88273 on the lab fee schedule since 2020
88273 · CLFS 2026 Q4 (current)
$34.81
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.
88273 compared with similar tests
- 88272CytogeneticsThree to five cells$40.70
- 88272 identifies analysis of 3–5 cells; 88273 identifies analysis of 10–30 cells.
- 88274Interphase FISH25–99 cells analyzed$42.38
- 88274 identifies analysis of 25–99 cells. Its range overlaps with 88273 at 25–30 cells, so the specific service and applicable CPT definition guide code selection.
- 88262Chromosome analysis15–20 cells, two karyotypes$125.49
- 88262 identifies conventional chromosome analysis of 15–20 cells; 88273 describes targeted chromosomal in situ hybridization.
88273 billing questions
When should 88273 be selected instead of 88272?
88273 identifies analysis of 10–30 cells; 88272 identifies analysis of 3–5 cells. Select the code that matches the service performed.
How does 88273 differ from 88274?
88273 identifies analysis of 10–30 cells, while 88274 identifies 25–99 cells. The ranges overlap at 25–30 cells, so select the code based on the specific service and its applicable CPT definition, not the count alone.
Is 88273 billed per cell?
No. The 10–30-cell count describes the analysis; it is not a per-cell billing unit.
Is this conventional chromosome analysis?
No. 88273 describes targeted chromosomal in situ hybridization. Conventional chromosome analysis, such as the service represented by 88262, is a different cytogenetic approach.
How does Medicare pay for 88273?
Medicare pays 88273 under the CLFS at one national amount, with no locality or office-versus-facility adjustment. The code is paid through the CLFS rather than the physician fee schedule.
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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