CPT code 77012: CT guidance, needle placement2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $122.92 for 77012 nationally in the office. Local office rates run $111.31–$158.03.

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

What 77012 covers

This service covers CT imaging used to plan and guide a needle to a target, with images used to check the needle’s position during placement. Radiologists and interventional radiologists commonly perform it in hospital imaging departments, outpatient radiology centers, or other settings equipped for CT-guided procedures. Typical cases include directing a biopsy needle into a lung, liver, kidney, bone, or soft-tissue lesion. The biopsy, aspiration, or other needle procedure is distinct from the imaging guidance service.

Report 77012 when CT provides the guidance for needle placement, rather than fluoroscopy or MRI. Documentation should support the target, the use of CT to guide placement, and the imaging supervision and interpretation. CMS recognizes professional and technical components: modifier 26 identifies interpretation, modifier TC identifies the equipment and staff portion, and reporting the code without either modifier represents the global service. The separately priced components may be billed by different entities when each performs its portion.

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 77012 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

77012 rates by state

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

How the 77012 rate is calculated

Each of 77012’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 77012

The CMS indicators that decide how 77012 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 26

77012 compared with similar codes

How to choose

77002Fluoroscopy guidanceNeedle placement

77012 is used when CT guides needle placement; 77002 describes fluoroscopic guidance for that purpose.

77011CT localizationStereotactic guidance

77011 is for CT-guided stereotactic localization. Choose 77012 when CT guides needle placement for a procedure such as biopsy.

77013CT guidanceParenchymal tissue ablation

77013 is for CT guidance of tissue ablation. 77012 covers CT guidance for needle placement for other interventions.

77021MRI needle guidanceNeedle placement

77021 describes MRI guidance for needle placement. Use 77012 when CT, rather than MRI, provides the guidance.

Codes related to 77012

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