Summary & Overview
CPT 82127: Targeted Single Amino Acid Detection
CPT code 82127 represents a targeted laboratory assay to determine the presence of a single amino acid in specimens such as blood, plasma, urine, amniotic fluid, or cerebrospinal fluid. This test is important nationally for screening or confirming suspected inborn errors of metabolism and for guiding clinical management when a specific amino acid abnormality is suspected. Payers of interest in national analyses include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare.
Readers will find a concise overview of clinical context, typical sites of service, and the laboratory role for this targeted amino acid detection. The publication covers how CPT code 82127 is used in practice, common settings where the test is ordered, and the types of clinical indications that prompt testing. It also summarizes payer coverage landscape, common modifiers reported with the service (input provided), and notes where input data is missing. Benchmarks, policy updates, and coding considerations relevant to laboratory billing for single-amino-acid assays are included to inform coding, claim submission, and administrative workflows at a national level.
Billing Code Overview
CPT code 82127 describes a laboratory procedure in which the analyst determines the presence of a single amino acid in a biological specimen such as blood, plasma, urine, amniotic fluid, or cerebrospinal fluid. The test commonly screens for an amino acid associated with an inborn error of metabolism and is used to detect or rule out specific metabolic disorders.
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Service type: Targeted amino acid detection in a clinical laboratory setting
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Typical site of service: Clinical laboratory; specimens collected in inpatient, outpatient, or ambulatory settings and sent to a lab for analysis
Clinical & Coding Specifications
Clinical Context
A newborn infant with feeding difficulty, vomiting, lethargy, or an abnormal newborn screen is admitted to the neonatal unit. A pediatrician orders laboratory testing to evaluate for an inborn error of metabolism. A clinical laboratory receives a blood or urine specimen and performs targeted amino acid testing to determine the presence of a single amino acid (e.g., elevated phenylalanine, methionine, or leucine) associated with disorders such as phenylketonuria, homocystinuria, or maple syrup urine disease. The specimen handling includes accessioning, aliquoting, specimen preparation, and analytic testing using techniques such as tandem mass spectrometry or amino acid analyzer. Results are reviewed by a laboratory director or clinical chemist and communicated to the pediatrician or metabolic specialist for diagnosis, treatment planning, and genetic counseling. Typical site of service is the hospital laboratory, clinical reference laboratory, or outpatient specimen collection center; specimen types include whole blood, plasma, urine, amniotic fluid, or cerebrospinal fluid.
Coding Specifications
| Modifier | Description | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
26 | Professional Component | Use when billing only the professional interpretation/reading of the laboratory analytic result, separate from the technical component. |
TC |