CPT code 73701: Extremity CT, with contrast2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $166.00 for 73701 nationally in the office. Local office rates run $146.88–$224.12.

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

What 73701 covers

This service covers CT imaging of a lower extremity using contrast material to help evaluate structures such as bone and soft tissue. It may be used when the clinical question involves a suspected mass, infection, or other abnormality requiring contrast-enhanced cross-sectional imaging. A radiologic technologist performs the acquisition in a hospital or imaging center, and a radiologist typically interprets the images.

Select 73701 when the CT study is performed with contrast only; use 73702 when images are acquired both before and after contrast, and 73700 for a study without contrast. Documentation should identify the imaged extremity, clinical indication, contrast-enhanced technique, and interpretation. Modifier 26 identifies the professional interpretation, modifier TC identifies the technical service, and billing without either modifier represents the global service. For multiple diagnostic imaging services, CMS applies the multiple-procedure reduction to both components. When performed bilaterally, 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.

Where 73701 pays more and less

The same RVUs, adjusted for each area’s costs. Open a locality for its calculation, history and nearby areas.

109 of 109 payment localities

73701 rates by state

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

How the 73701 rate is calculated

Each of 73701’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 73701

The CMS indicators that decide how 73701 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 26

73701 compared with similar codes

How to choose

73700Extremity CTWithout contrast material

73700 is for lower-extremity CT without contrast; 73701 is for a contrast-enhanced CT study.

73702CT scanWithout and with contrast

73702 applies when CT images are obtained both before and after contrast. Use 73701 when the study is performed with contrast only.

73706CT angiographyLower extremity, without and with contrast

73706 is for CT angiography of the lower extremity, a vascular imaging study. Use 73701 for a contrast-enhanced CT that is not a CTA examination.

73719Extremity MRIWith contrast, non-joint

73719 describes lower-extremity MRI with contrast. Choose between it and 73701 based on whether the performed modality is MRI or CT.

Codes related to 73701

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

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