CPT code 73221: Joint MRI, upper extremity, no contrast2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in North Dakota

In North Dakota, Medicare pays $203.30 for 73221 in the office.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 73221 nationwide

Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.

What 73221 covers

This service uses magnetic resonance imaging to evaluate an upper-extremity joint without contrast material. Common targets include the shoulder, elbow, and wrist; clinicians may request the study for suspected rotator cuff or labral injury, internal joint derangement, or unexplained joint pain. An imaging technologist acquires the images, and a radiologist or other qualified physician interprets them in an outpatient imaging center or hospital department.

Select this code when the study is directed at a joint rather than a nonjoint region of the arm, and when contrast is not used. The order and report should identify the joint and clinical reason for imaging, and the record should support the performed protocol. The global service includes the technical work and interpretation; modifier 26 reports interpretation only, and modifier TC reports the technical portion only. CMS applies the diagnostic imaging multiple procedure reduction to both components. For bilateral imaging, each side is paid separately at 100%.

This summary was written with AI assistance from CMS physician fee schedule data and checked against the CMS billing rules shown here. Rates on this page come directly from CMS files.

How North Dakota compares for 73221

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the office rate for 73221 runs from $181.35 in Arkansas to $278.37 in San Benito County, CA. North Dakota pays $203.30. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

73221 rates by state

Office rate range in each state. Select a state to see its payment localities.

See 73221 in every payment locality

How the 73221 rate is calculated

Each of 73221’s three RVUs is multiplied by a geographic index (GPCI) for the payment locality, added up, and multiplied by the conversion factor. Drag the indexes or enter a ZIP to see what moves the rate.

Payment rules and modifiers for 73221

The CMS indicators that decide how 73221 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 26

Codes related to 73221

Related codes aren’t interchangeable: bill the code that matches the service performed.

How 73221 has changed in North Dakota

Price 73221 for an earlier date of service

Where the North Dakota rate applies

North Dakota is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 406 cities and communities in North Dakota. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Abercrombie
• Adams
• Alamo
• Alexander
• Alice
• Almont
• Alsen
• Ambrose

Browse all communities in North Dakota

Where these rates come from

FeeBase calculates base physician payments from CMS work, practice-expense and malpractice RVUs, adjusted by each locality’s geographic indexes and the conversion factor. Services without a published rate are labeled, never given a made-up amount. Amounts are Medicare allowed amounts before claim adjustments: not a patient’s bill or a commercial rate.

CMS RVU26D · effective Oct 1, 2026 through the day before Jan 1, 2027

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates