CPT code 78015: Thyroid metastasis imaging, limited anatomic area2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $204.08 for 78015 nationally in the office. Local office rates run $177.45–$284.65.

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

What 78015 covers

This study images a focused region for iodine-avid thyroid cancer after thyroidectomy, such as the neck and chest when evaluating residual thyroid tissue or suspected spread. A nuclear medicine technologist acquires the images, and a nuclear medicine physician or radiologist interprets them. The service is generally performed in a hospital or outpatient nuclear medicine department after administration of the imaging radiopharmaceutical.

Report 78015 when the examination is limited to a defined area rather than covering the whole body. The order and report should support the thyroid cancer indication, the region imaged, and the findings. The code represents a diagnostic test with separately identifiable professional and technical components: report modifier 26 for interpretation, modifier TC for equipment and staff, or neither modifier for the global service.

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 78015 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

78015 rates by state

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

How the 78015 rate is calculated

Each of 78015’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 78015

The CMS indicators that decide how 78015 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 26

78015 compared with similar codes

How to choose

78016Thyroid metastasis imagingWhole body

Choose 78016 when the examination covers the whole body; 78015 is for a defined, limited region such as the neck and chest.

78018Thyroid metastasis scanWhole body with additional imaging

78018 is the whole-body thyroid cancer metastasis study with SPECT. 78015 is limited-area imaging.

78012Thyroid uptakeUptake measurement only

78012 measures thyroid uptake; 78015 produces images of a limited region to evaluate thyroid cancer spread or residual disease.

78014Thyroid scanQuantitative uptake measurement

78014 images the thyroid gland itself, including vascular flow when performed. 78015 evaluates thyroid cancer in a limited body region.

Codes related to 78015

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