AMA's CPT Panel Meets Sept. 17-19: What Molecular Pathology Labs Should Watch For
Short answer: The AMA CPT Editorial Panel meets September 17-19, 2026 in Minneapolis to vote on new and revised lab and pathology codes -- including deleting the legacy Prosigna breast-cancer code (81520), creating a Category III code for digitized prostate slides, and 20-plus new PLA codes -- plus a major overhaul of the application process itself. Anything approved won't be billable until the 2028 codebook, but labs should start tracking it now.
What Actually Happens at a CPT Editorial Panel Meeting
The CPT Editorial Panel is the American Medical Association body that adds, revises, and deletes Current Procedural Terminology codes -- the codes labs, hospitals, and clinicians use to bill Medicare and commercial payers for every test and procedure. It meets three times a year, and the September cycle is historically the one most packed with laboratory and pathology items.
The process runs on a fixed calendar. Code-change applications for the September 17-19, 2026 meeting were due June 10, 2026 -- twelve weeks ahead of the meeting. The public agenda, covering 94 separate items, posted July 10. Comment periods followed, with the window for lab-specific code items closing earliest "to allow for early subcommittee meetings," according to health-policy tracking site Discoveries in Health Policy, while the general Interested Party comment deadline for the rest of the agenda ran to August 10. The agenda itself kept moving right up to the meeting, with revision rounds posted July 10, August 14, September 4, and September 11.
The Codes Actually on the Table
Six agenda "tabs" carry most of the laboratory and pathology weight this cycle, according to agenda analysis from Discoveries in Health Policy, which reviews each CPT meeting's public agenda line by line:
Tab 38 -- Bone marrow biopsy codes
A proposed revision to codes 88305-88307, the pathology codes used for bone marrow biopsy and aspirate interpretation. Revisions to established codes typically affect how work is bundled and valued, not whether the service is billable at all -- but any wording change is worth a side-by-side comparison against current billing once the Summary of Panel Actions is out.
Tab 39 -- The end of legacy Prosigna billing (81520)
The agenda proposes deleting CPT 81520, the code currently used for the Prosigna breast-cancer recurrence-score assay, with a replacement code built around the newer NGS-based version of the test. For any lab or ordering practice still billing the legacy assay, a code deletion is a hard stop -- claims submitted under a deleted code after its retirement date deny outright, regardless of medical necessity.
Tab 40 -- Blood bank services
Revisions to blood bank services codes round out the transfusion-medicine side of the agenda.
Tab 41 -- New adenovirus testing codes
New codes in the 87xxx infectious-disease series would give labs a dedicated way to bill adenovirus testing, rather than routing it through unlisted or analyte-adjacent codes.
Tab 68 -- A Category III code for digital pathology
The agenda creates Category III code X672T for digitized prostate slides -- an early, tracking-only billing code for whole-slide digital pathology workflows in prostate cancer. Category III codes exist to gather utilization data; they typically carry no assigned relative value and payers are not obligated to reimburse them, so this is a foothold for future coverage, not a revenue line today. It sits alongside the broader push toward reimbursable AI-assisted pathology we covered in our guide to AI pathology CPT codes.
More than 20 new PLA codes
Beyond the Category I and III items, the agenda also carries more than twenty new Proprietary Laboratory Analyses (PLA) codes -- the assay-specific codes labs apply for on a rolling quarterly cycle, distinct from the Editorial Panel's own process. If your lab has an application in that pipeline, see our coverage of the PLA code application deadlines for how the two tracks intersect.
Tab 94: A Rewrite of How Labs Apply for Codes at All
The item likely to matter most for labs over the next several years isn't a specific code -- it's Tab 94, a proposed rewrite of the Code Change Application (CCA) that every lab or manufacturer must complete to request a new or revised pathology/lab code. An updated version, referred to as "Ballot C," posted September 4, 2026, and the Panel scheduled a dedicated 7 a.m. session on September 17 specifically to work through it, with a request deadline of September 16 for anyone wanting to weigh in before that session.
According to Discoveries in Health Policy's read of the revision, the changes touch seven areas: integrating the FDA's laboratory-developed-test framework into the application; adding artificial-intelligence documentation requirements across three separate pathways; revising CLIA-specific questions; consolidating redundant application text; tightening evidence and utilization requirements; strengthening the required link between cited literature and the clinical claims an applicant makes; and a set of technical edits, including adjustments to Multianalyte Assays with Algorithmic Analyses (MAAA) code language.
The author of that analysis, who has tracked CPT pathology agendas closely, called the revisions "LARGE and IMPORTANT" -- while also noting the AMA's own markup made the actual document difficult to parse.
Practically, this means the bar for getting a new lab or pathology code approved is rising, not just for AI-based tests but for any application that will now need to show its evidentiary work more explicitly and account for LDT and CLIA status up front. Labs and diagnostics companies planning a Category I, Category III, or PLA application in 2027 or later should read the finalized Tab 94 language once the Summary of Panel Actions posts, rather than assuming the old CCA template still applies.
The Timeline: Minneapolis to the 2028 Codebook
Nothing decided in Minneapolis is billable this year, or even next. The Panel's Summary of Panel Actions -- the official record of what was approved, rejected, or tabled -- is due within two weeks of the meeting's close, putting it on or before October 2, 2026. From there, newly approved codes move to the AMA/Specialty Society RVS Update Committee (RUC) for valuation, and then into CMS's public rulemaking comment process, which health-policy tracking describes as landing in summer 2027 ahead of the 2028 CPT codebook. In other words, September 2026 is the "final data-collection opportunity" before that cycle locks in -- codes approved now are aimed at taking effect January 1, 2028.
That lag matters for planning. A lab watching for the Prosigna code transition (Tab 39) or the digital-pathology Category III code (Tab 68) should not expect any billing impact in 2026 or 2027; the near-term action is tracking whether these items pass as proposed, not adjusting claims systems today. For the reimbursement mechanics that will eventually apply once new codes go live, our explainer on CLFS rate-setting covers how newly priced codes flow into the Medicare fee schedule.
What Labs, RCM Teams, and Ordering Clinicians Should Do Now
Coding and RCM teams billing Prosigna under 81520 should flag the code for monitoring immediately -- a deletion vote at this meeting means planning for a coding transition well before any CMS effective date is set. Labs with AI-enabled or algorithm-based assays in their pipeline should read the finalized Tab 94 language closely once it posts, since the new CCA will likely govern every Category I, Category III, and PLA application the Panel reviews going forward, and preparing FDA-LDT-framework and CLIA documentation earlier rather than later will shorten the next application cycle. Digital pathology programs, particularly in prostate cancer, should treat X672T as a data-tracking opportunity rather than a reimbursement one for now. And for the roughly two dozen labs with PLA applications already in motion, cross-check your code numbers against the Summary of Panel Actions once it publishes October 2 to confirm nothing on your list was pulled or renumbered. Broader background on how new codes eventually intersect with Medicare coverage decisions is in our Medicare coverage guide for genetic testing.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the CPT Editorial Panel meet next, and where?
The Panel meets September 17-19, 2026, at the Hyatt Regency in Minneapolis, with limited in-person seating and unlimited virtual attendance for observers.
When will codes approved at this meeting actually be billable?
Not until the 2028 CPT codebook. Approved codes move to AMA RUC valuation and then through CMS's public comment process, projected for summer 2027, ahead of a January 1, 2028 effective date.
Is CPT 81520 (Prosigna) actually being deleted?
It's a proposed deletion on the September 2026 agenda (Tab 39), paired with a new NGS-based replacement code. Confirm the final outcome in the Summary of Panel Actions, expected on or before October 2, 2026, before changing any billing workflow.
What is Tab 94, and why does it matter if my lab isn't applying for a new code this cycle?
Tab 94 rewrites the Code Change Application that every future lab and pathology code request must use, adding FDA LDT-framework questions, AI documentation across three pathways, and stricter evidence requirements. It will shape every CCA submission from this meeting onward, not just the items voted on in September 2026.
Are the 20-plus new PLA codes on this agenda the same as the Editorial Panel's Category I/III process?
No. PLA codes move through a separate, more frequent quarterly application cycle even though they can appear on the same public agenda. See our guide to PLA code application deadlines for how the two tracks relate.
This article is provided for general educational and business-operations purposes for laboratory, billing, and clinical-decision-support audiences. It is not legal, coding, reimbursement, or medical advice, and CPT Editorial Panel proposals can change before, during, or after the meeting. Confirm final code actions against the AMA's official Summary of Panel Actions and current CPT codebook before making billing or documentation decisions, and consult qualified compliance or coding counsel for guidance specific to your organization. Learn more about how ScreenMyGene supports genetic testing decision workflows.
Sources: American Medical Association, CPT Editorial Panel process calendar and CPT Editorial Panel Meeting page (ama-assn.org); Discoveries in Health Policy, "Pathology Codes for September 2026 Minneapolis Meeting" (Jun. 2026); Discoveries in Health Policy, "AMA CPT: Call for Comments on September 2026 New Codes; also AI in Code Change Application" (Jul. 2026); Discoveries in Health Policy, "AMA Lab Code Application Revisions are Large and Important" (Sep. 2026).