HCPCS code G0482: Definitive drug test, 15 to 21 classes2026 Medicare lab fee · Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule
G0482 reports definitive drug identification for 15 to 21 classes per day, including metabolites when performed, for qualitative or quantitative testing.
Medicare pays $198.74 for G0482 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
$198.74
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 G0482 covers
This laboratory analysis uses definitive drug-identification methods, such as gas or liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry, that can identify individual drugs and distinguish structural isomers. The method uses internal standards in each sample and drug- or method-specific calibration with matrix-matched quality controls; immunoassays and enzymatic methods are excluded. Results may be qualitative or quantitative, and specimen-validity testing is included. Clinicians may order definitive testing to monitor prescribed medication or investigate unexpected presumptive drug-screen findings.
Report G0482 once per day when the analysis covers 15 to 21 drug classes; the range includes metabolites when performed. The code covers testing from all specimen sources. Medicare pays G0482 only through the CLFS, at one national amount across states and localities with no geographic or office/facility adjustment. The 2026 national CLFS amount is $198.74, unchanged since 2020.
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 G0482
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 G0482. 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 G0482 with status X (excluded by statute), so the test itself is paid only from the CLFS.
G0482 on the lab fee schedule since 2020
G0482 · CLFS 2026 Q4 (current)
$198.74
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.
G0482 compared with similar tests
- G0480Definitive drug testOne to seven classes$114.43
- G0480 is the lower class-count tier, for 1 to 7 drug classes per day; G0482 is for 15 to 21.
- G0481Definitive drug test8–14 drug classes$156.59
- G0481 covers 8 to 14 drug classes per day. Use G0482 when the definitive test covers 15 to 21 classes.
- G0483Drug test22 or more classes$246.92
- G0483 is for 22 or more drug classes per day; G0482 applies to the 15-to-21-class range.
G0482 billing questions
How do I choose between G0482 and the neighboring definitive drug test codes?
Choose by the number of drug classes tested per day: G0482 covers 15 to 21 classes. G0481 covers 8 to 14, while G0483 covers 22 or more.
Does G0482 include specimen-validity testing?
Yes. Specimen-validity testing is included in the service represented by G0482.
How many units should be reported?
Report G0482 once per day for testing across 15 to 21 drug classes. Metabolites are included in the range when performed.
Does Medicare pay G0482 under the physician fee schedule?
No. Medicare pays G0482 only through the CLFS, with one national amount applying across localities and 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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