CPT code 73721: Lower extremity joint MRI, without contrast2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $204.41 for 73721 nationally in the office. Local office rates run $180.77–$277.40.

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

What 73721 covers

This study images a lower extremity joint, often the knee, ankle, or hip, without intravenous or intra-articular contrast. Orthopedists, sports medicine physicians, and podiatrists commonly order it to evaluate meniscal tears, ACL and collateral ligament injuries, cartilage defects, tendon tears, labral pathology, osteochondral lesions, stress fractures, and avascular necrosis. Studies are performed in hospital outpatient departments and freestanding imaging centers, with a radiologist interpreting the images.

Report the joint studied and its side. For corresponding joints imaged bilaterally, identify both sides using modifier 50 or separate RT and LT lines according to the billing format; Medicare pays each side separately at 100%. Modifier TC identifies the equipment, staff, and other technical work, while modifier 26 identifies the interpretation and signed report. Billing without either modifier represents the global service. When multiple diagnostic imaging studies are performed in the same session, the diagnostic imaging multiple procedure reduction applies to the technical and professional components. Documentation should identify the joint, side, indication, sequences, and absence of contrast.

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 73721 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

73721 rates by state

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

How the 73721 rate is calculated

Each of 73721’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 73721

The CMS indicators that decide how 73721 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 26

73721 compared with similar codes

How to choose

73718MRINonjoint, without contrast

73721 targets a joint such as the knee, ankle, or hip; 73718 covers non-joint lower extremity anatomy such as thigh or calf soft tissue and bone shafts.

73723Joint MRIWithout and with contrast

73721 involves no contrast. Use 73723 when the joint is imaged before and after contrast administration.

73722Joint MRIWith contrast

Report 73722 when the joint MRI uses contrast, including direct MR arthrography; report 73721 when the joint is imaged without contrast.

73700Extremity CTWithout contrast material

73700 is a CT scan of the lower extremity without contrast, not an MRI; select the code for the modality performed.

Codes related to 73721

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