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Lab CPT Codes 2026 Update

Lab CPT Codes 2026 Update

Lab CPT Codes 2026 Update: Common Tests, Descriptions & Introduction Dates

Last updated: March 2026. CPT® codes are copyrighted by the American Medical Association (AMA). This Lab CPT Codes 2026 Update provides an informational overview of commonly used laboratory CPT codes (Pathology & Laboratory section: 80047–89398, plus molecular and Proprietary Laboratory Analyses/PLA codes) as of 2026. It is not exhaustive and not a substitute for the official CPT® 2026 Professional Edition manual, your billing software, or payer-specific guidelines.

Always verify medical necessity, bundling rules (NCCI edits), CLIA status, and reimbursement with Medicare’s Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule (CLFS) or your contracted payers. Incorrect coding can lead to claim denials or audits.12 The AMA released the CPT 2026 code set with 288 new codes, 84 deletions, and 46 revisions overall. Laboratory and molecular/PLA codes represent a large portion of the updates (approximately 27% PLA alone), reflecting advances in genomics, infectious disease detection, and precision diagnostics.13

Commonly Used Laboratory CPT Codes (Stable / Longstanding)

These are the most frequently billed lab tests in outpatient and hospital settings and remain largely unchanged in the Lab CPT Codes 2026 Update unless noted below. They are marked Established (pre-2026).

Organ/Disease-Oriented Panels & Chemistry

CPT Code Description Typical Use / Components Admitted as New Code
80048 Basic Metabolic Panel (Calcium, total) Electrolytes, BUN, creatinine, glucose, calcium, CO₂, chloride, potassium, sodium Established (pre-2026; standardized ~2000)
80053 Comprehensive Metabolic Panel BMP components + albumin, ALT, AST, ALP, bilirubin (total), total protein Established (pre-2026; standardized ~2000)
80061 Lipid Panel Total cholesterol, HDL, triglycerides (calculated LDL) Established (pre-2026)
80076 Hepatic Function Panel Albumin, ALT, AST, ALP, bilirubin total/direct, total protein Established (pre-2026)
82306 Vitamin D, 25-hydroxy Bone health/deficiency screening Established (pre-2026)
83036 Hemoglobin A1c Diabetes monitoring / glycemic control Established (pre-2026)
84443 Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) Thyroid function screening Established (pre-2026)

Hematology, Coagulation & Urinalysis

CPT Code Description Typical Use / Components Admitted as New Code
85025 Complete Blood Count (CBC) with automated differential RBC, WBC, hemoglobin, hematocrit, platelets + differential Established (pre-2026)
85027 CBC without differential Basic blood count Established (pre-2026)
85610 Prothrombin Time (PT) Warfarin monitoring/clotting assessment Established (pre-2026)
85730 Partial Thromboplastin Time (PTT) Heparin monitoring/bleeding disorders Established (pre-2026)
81003 Urinalysis, automated without microscopy Routine screening Established (pre-2026)
81001 Urinalysis, automated with microscopy UTI / kidney evaluation Established (pre-2026)

Microbiology & Infectious Disease (Selected)

CPT Code Description Typical Use Admitted as New Code
87086 Culture, bacterial; urine, quantitative UTI confirmation Established (pre-2026)
87491 Infectious agent detection by nucleic acid (DNA/RNA); Chlamydia trachomatis STI screening Established (pre-2026; see 2026 update below)
87591 Infectious agent detection by nucleic acid; Neisseria gonorrhoeae STI screening Established (pre-2026; see 2026 update below)

Note: Many older separate NAAT codes for Chlamydia/Gonorrhea have been consolidated in the Lab CPT Codes 2026 Update (see New Codes section).4

For more on related laboratory services, see our internal guides: Lab CPT Codes Overview, Genetic Test Local Coverage Determination, Medicare Coverage Determinations for Genetic Tests.

2026 New, Revised & Deleted Laboratory CPT Codes

These were admitted as new codes effective January 1, 2026 (or later quarterly for some PLA). Full details in the official CPT 2026 manual.

New Codes (Category I – Pathology & Laboratory)

CPT Code Full Description Admitted as New Code
81354 Cytogenomic (genome-wide) analysis for constitutional chromosomal abnormalities; interrogation of structural and copy number variants, optical genome mapping (OGM) January 1, 2026
81524 Oncology (central nervous system tumor), DNA methylation analysis of at least 10,000 methylation sites, utilizing DNA extracted from formalin-fixed tumor tissue, algorithm(s) reported as probability of matching a reference tumor family and class, and MGMT promoter methylation status, if performed January 1, 2026
87182 Susceptibility studies, antimicrobial agent; carbapenemase enzyme detection (e.g., KPC, NDM, VIM), multiplex immunoassay, qualitative, per isolate January 1, 2026
87183 Susceptibility studies, antimicrobial agent; carbapenem resistance genes (e.g., blaKPC, blaNDM, blaVIM, blaOXA-48, blaIMP), amplified probe technique, per isolate January 1, 2026
87494 Infectious agent detection by nucleic acid (DNA or RNA); Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae, multiplex amplified probe technique January 1, 2026
87627 Infectious agent detection by nucleic acid (DNA or RNA); joint space pathogens and drug resistance genes, multiplex amplified probe technique, 26 or more targets January 1, 2026
87812 Infectious agent antigen detection by immunoassay with direct optical observation; severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and influenza virus types A and B January 1, 2026

Revised Codes (2026)

83015 – Heavy metal (e.g., antimony, arsenic…); qualitative, any number of analytes
83018 – Heavy metal…; quantitative, each, not elsewhere specified4

Deleted Codes (Effective 12/31/2025)

Certain PLA codes (e.g., 0450U & 0451U for specific LC-MS/MS multiple myeloma tests)4

Proprietary Laboratory Analyses (PLA) Codes – 2026 Updates

PLA codes (e.g., 0001U and higher, or recent series like 0524U+) are test-specific proprietary assays listed in Appendix O. They take precedence over other codes when applicable. Many added quarterly.5

Selected new PLA examples effective 2026 (Jan or Apr 1): 0524U – Obstetrics (preeclampsia), sFlt-1/PIGF ratio, immunoassay, utilizing serum or plasma, reported as a value
Various others for mitochondrial, oncology, dementia, etc. (e.g., 0575U–0613U series expansions)6

Tip: Check the latest AMA PLA list or your lab’s test menu—many are MAC-priced initially.

Billing Tips for the Lab CPT Codes 2026 Update

Panels vs. Components: Bill the panel code (e.g., 80053) only if all components are performed on the same date. Otherwise, bill individually.

Modifiers: -91 (repeat lab test same day), QW (CLIA-waived), 90 (reference lab), 59 (distinct procedure).

Medical Necessity: Link to appropriate ICD-10 code. Medicare CLFS data file available on CMS.gov.7

PAMA Payment Reductions: 15% cap begins for many non-ADLT tests in 2026–2028 (delayed/no reduction in 2026).8

Download the full current CLFS: CMS CLFS Files page

Resources & Further Reading: AMA CPT 2026 Code Set (official purchase)
CMS Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule 2026 Annual Update (CR 14312)
Your lab’s charge master & billing software updates

Stay current! Bookmark this post and check back annually—new lab CPT codes are released every fall for January 1 implementation. Questions about specific codes or billing? Comment below.

Citations for Lab CPT Codes 2026 Update

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Michael F. Arrigo

Michael Arrigo, an expert witness, and healthcare executive, brings four decades of experience in the software, financial services, and healthcare industries. In 2000, Mr. Arrigo founded No World Borders, a healthcare data, regulations, and economics firm with clients in the pharmaceutical, medical device, hospital, surgical center, physician group, diagnostic imaging, genetic testing, health I.T., and health insurance markets. His expertise spans the federal health programs Medicare and Medicaid and private insurance. He advises Medicare Advantage Organizations that provide health insurance under Part C of the Medicare Act. Mr. Arrigo serves as an expert witness regarding medical coding and billing, fraud damages, and electronic health record software for the U.S. Department of Justice. He has valued well over $1 billion in medical billings in personal injury liens, malpractice, and insurance fraud cases. The U.S. Court of Appeals considered Mr. Arrigo's opinion regarding loss amounts, vacating, and remanding sentencing in a fraud case. Mr. Arrigo provides expertise in the Medicare Secondary Payer Act, Medicare LCDs, anti-trust litigation, medical intellectual property and trade secrets, HIPAA privacy, health care electronic claim data Standards, physician compensation, Anti-Kickback Statute, Stark law, the Affordable Care Act, False Claims Act, and the ARRA HITECH Act. Arrigo advises investors on merger and acquisition (M&A) diligence in the healthcare industry on transactions cumulatively valued at over $1 billion. Mr. Arrigo spent over ten years in Silicon Valley software firms in roles from Product Manager to CEO. He was product manager for a leading-edge database technology joint venture that became commercialized as Microsoft SQL Server, Vice President of Marketing for a software company when it grew from under $2 million in revenue to a $50 million acquisition by a company now merged into Cincom Systems, hired by private equity investors to serve as Vice President of Marketing for a secure email software company until its acquisition and multi $million investor exit by a company now merged into Axway Software S.A. (Euronext: AXW.PA), and CEO of one of the first cloud-based billing software companies, licensing its technology to Citrix Systems (NASDAQ: CTXS). Later, before entering the healthcare industry, he joined Fortune 500 company Fidelity National Financial (NYSE: FNF) as a Vice President, overseeing eCommerce solutions for the mortgage banking industry. While serving as a Vice President at Fortune 500 company First American Financial (NYSE: FAF), he oversaw eCommerce and regulatory compliance technology initiatives for the top ten mortgage banks and led the Sarbanes Oxley Act Section 302 internal controls I.T. audit for the company, supporting Section 404 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act. Mr. Arrigo earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Southern California. Before that, he studied computer science, statistics, and economics at the University of California, Irvine. His post-graduate studies include biomedical ethics at Harvard Medical School, biomedical informatics at Stanford Medical School, blockchain and crypto-economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and training as a Certified Professional Medical Auditor (CPMA). Mr. Arrigo is qualified to serve as a director due to his experience in healthcare data, regulations, and economics, his leadership roles in software and financial services public companies, and his healthcare M&A diligence and public company regulatory experience. Mr. Arrigo is quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Fortune Magazine, Kaiser Health News, Consumer Affairs, National Public Radio (NPR), NBC News Houston, USA Today / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Medical Economics, Capitol ForumThe Daily Beast, the Lund Report, Inside Higher Ed, New England Psychologist, and other press and media outlets. He authored a peer-reviewed article regarding clinical documentation quality to support accurate medical coding, billing, and good patient care, published by Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) and published in Healthcare I.T. News. Mr. Arrigo serves as a member of the board of directors of a publicly traded company in the healthcare and data analytics industry, where his duties include: member, audit committee; chair, compensation committee; member, special committee.

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