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Describe a service in plain words, or type a CPT/HCPCS code.

Q4 2026 takes effect Oct 1, 2026. CMS published it early. Dates of service before then use the current release—see the current HCPCS A9501 rate.

HCPCS A9501

Contractor-priced

A9501 · PFS Q4 2026 · Upcoming

No national PFS rate in Q4 2026

Your Medicare Administrative Contractor prices this code case by case, usually after reviewing documentation.

Check for a published amount in your locality.

CMS published status C (carrier-priced) for HCPCS A9501 in the Q4 2026 Physician Fee Schedule, with no national PFS amount. These figures take effect for dates of service beginning Oct 1, 2026. Treat the blank amount as unpriced, not as $0.

PFS status evidence

Inspect PFS status evidence
Code
A9501
Release
Q4 2026, revision 2
Result
Contractor-priced

Citations

  • Shows this code’s PFS status (C). Result: Contractor-priced.

    Physician relative value file (PPRRVU)

    Q4 2026 · revision 2

    Latest revision of this release

    Release period: October 1 – December 31, 2026

    This PFS record alone does not establish a $0 allowance or a coverage determination. Any amount from another schedule needs its own evidence.

    Record details PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv in rvu26d-updated-08-26-2026.zip (row 13,936)
    hcpcs (col 1)
    A9501
    modifier (col 2)
    blank
    status_code (col 4)
    C

    SHA-256: 4d0d3f19bd954ffc0f5b8439169d267da023d4f6911f4539bb6e98723cb1a626

    Original source file

Plain-text summary

Why is there no national PFS amount for A9501?

Its status indicator is C (carrier-priced). Your Medicare Administrative Contractor prices this code case by case, usually after reviewing documentation.

About this code

Technetium tc-99m teboroxime

Payment considerations Copy link

Here are the inputs and payment rules that apply to this code. Each link takes you to the detail below.

Other payment indicators (7)

Facility/non-facility: Not determined, Professional/technical component: Does not apply, Bilateral adjustment: Does not apply, Multiple-procedure reduction: Does not apply, Assistant/co-surgeon treatment: Does not apply, Global surgery: Does not apply, Other fee-schedule routing: Does not apply.

Why would a Medicare claim for A9501 be denied or paid less?

These come from CMS indicators on this page, not general billing advice.

  • Its status indicator is C (carrier-priced)—Your Medicare Administrative Contractor prices this code case by case, usually after reviewing documentation. See status indicators
  • 17 codes form NCCI pairs with A9501 carrying modifier indicator 0—no NCCI-associated modifier bypasses the edit, so billed together on the same date of service, a line of the pair denies. See billing together
  • More than 1 unit per patient per date of service exceeds A9501's Medically Unlikely Edit (MUE) limit. See billing together
  • Bilateral surgery: no bilateral adjustment. See billing policy
  • Assistant at surgery: restricted without documentation. See billing policy
  • Co-surgeons: not permitted. See billing policy
  • Team surgery: not permitted. See billing policy

Payer-specific coverage and documentation rules live outside these files, so a claim that clears every check here can still be denied on other grounds.

Reconciling a contractor-priced payment for A9501 Copy link

There is no national allowed amount for A9501, so every reconciliation of this line runs against the MAC fee schedule that was in force for the date of service rather than against a national baseline.

What to check

  • Compare the paid amount against the MAC fee schedule in force for the date of service; there is no national allowed amount here to reconcile against.
  • Check for documentation on file before appealing an assistant-at-surgery denial: payment on the -80 or -AS line is restricted for this procedure unless medical necessity is established.
  • Reprice the line against the release, locality, setting, modifier and participation status that applied to the date of service before treating any difference as an underpayment.

Codes to compare

National Q4 2026 amounts at GPCI 1.000. A blank means this schedule does not publish a payable PFS amount.

None of the comparison codes are in this release.

Sources: CMS Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Relative Value Files; CMS Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Relative Value Files (status indicator field); 42 USC 1395w-4(i)(2) (SSA §1848(i)(2))—Assistants-at-surgery.

Which billing rules and modifiers apply? Copy link

Global period: what A9501's fee already covers Copy link

XXX Does not apply

The global surgery concept does not apply to this code.

Billing policy Copy link

These billing-policy indicators explain how A9501 is treated. They apply whether the code is nationally priced or carrier-priced: a restriction like "bilateral not allowed" still matters on a carrier-priced code.

Policy Value What it means
Bilateral surgery 0 No bilateral adjustment. The 150% bilateral payment adjustment does not apply to this procedure.
Assistant at surgery 0 Restricted without documentation. Payment for an assistant at surgery is restricted for this procedure unless supporting documentation establishes medical necessity.
Co-surgeons 0 Not permitted. Medicare does not recognize co-surgeons (modifier 62) for this procedure.
Team surgery 0 Not permitted. Medicare does not recognize a surgical team (modifier 66) for this procedure.
Multiple procedures 0 No reduction. No multiple-procedure reduction applies when this procedure is billed with others on the same date; each is paid at its full fee schedule amount.
Professional/technical split 0 No PC/TC split. This is a physician service code; the professional/technical split does not apply, and the code is billed as a single service.

Can you bill it with another code? Copy link

Check a pair of codes Copy link

Enter a second CPT or HCPCS code billed on the same date of service. We'll check the current NCCI procedure-to-procedure edit for the pair.

See every current NCCI pair for A9501 →

Billing together (NCCI edits) Copy link

NCCI Q4 2026

Based on CMS's National Correct Coding Initiative (NCCI). A few examples appear here; use the complete edit page to check a specific pair.

Not separately payable with A9501 on the same date of service—no modifier bypasses the edit (modifier indicator 0)

78070 A9501 denies
78226 A9501 denies
78227 A9501 denies

Showing 3 of 17.

Check a paired code or view all 17 NCCI pairs →

Medically Unlikely Edit (MUE) limit: 1 unit per patient per date of service.

How has it changed? Copy link

When does this rate change?

CMS publishes a fee schedule release every quarter (January, April, July, October), and each is versioned here. See what changed each release, or get an email when a new release moves rates.

Sources: CMS Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Relative Value Files.

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Source & method

Show sources

Contractor amounts come from the MAC-published schedules and effective dates shown above. The PFS file shows this code is priced by the contractor. Past releases are never edited, so these sources stay valid after CMS publishes a newer one. CMS owns the code description shown for HCPCS Level II codes. Our methodology explains sourcing, parsing, versioning, and how we cross-check claims before we publish them.

Use the (i) buttons next to each amount above for the exact row, columns, and math.

Cite this rate

The citation names the release, so anyone can check it even after CMS publishes a newer one.

HCPCS A9501 National PFS baseline: No national PFS rate (Q4 2026; participating; whole service; GPCI 1.000; sequestration excluded). Localis. https://localishealth.com/hcpcs/A9501/2026/D