{
    "code": "72158",
    "coding_system": "CPT",
    "canonical_url": "https://localishealth.com/cpt/72158/2021/A",
    "release_specific_url": "https://localishealth.com/cpt/72158/2021/D",
    "description": "An MRI of the lumbar spine - the low back - run twice in one sitting: first plain, then again after contrast dye is injected into a vein. Comparing the two sets of images helps separate scar tissue from a genuinely recurrent disc problem, and makes infection or tumor light up clearly. This is the most thorough of the three low-back MRI options, which otherwise cover plain-only or dye-only studies.",
    "answer": {
        "question": "How much did Medicare pay for CPT 72158 in Q4 2021?",
        "text": "Medicare paid $365.33 for CPT 72158 in the office (non-facility) setting and $365.33 in a facility under the Q4 2021 Physician Fee Schedule, effective October 2021. These are the national allowed amounts before the ~2% sequestration cut and before locality (GPCI) adjustment. This price has been unchanged since Q1 2021, when it decreased 2.0%."
    },
    "release": {
        "schedule": "pfs",
        "year": 2021,
        "quarter": "D",
        "label": "Q4 2021",
        "effective": "October 1 – December 31, 2021",
        "revision": 1
    },
    "status": {
        "code": "A",
        "non_facility_payable": true,
        "facility_payable": true
    },
    "national_rates_usd": {
        "office_non_facility": 365.33,
        "facility": 365.33,
        "sequestration_applied": false,
        "gpci": 1
    },
    "rvus": {
        "work": 2.29,
        "practice_expense_non_facility": 8.05,
        "practice_expense_facility": 8.05,
        "malpractice": 0.13
    },
    "formula": "(work_rvu × work_gpci + pe_rvu × pe_gpci + mp_rvu × mp_gpci) × conversion_factor",
    "conversion_factor": 34.8931,
    "source": {
        "label": "Physician relative value file (Q4 2021)",
        "cms_url": "https://www.cms.gov/files/zip/rvu21d.zip",
        "local_source_url": "https://localishealth.com/sources/physician-fee-schedule/2021/D",
        "file": "PPRRVU21_OCT.csv",
        "row": 12456,
        "sha256": "f1972bd23bdc51795ceba7d536bb413a0ba0b47fad8c2ed594e7ee7799877297"
    },
    "modified_at": "2026-08-04T03:10:59+00:00"
}