CPT code 78120: Red cell mass, single determination2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Alabama

In Alabama, Medicare pays $63.82 for 78120 in the office.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 78120 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 78120 covers

This nuclear medicine study measures the patient’s circulating red cell mass using labeled red cells and blood sampling. It may be ordered when a clinician needs to determine whether an elevated hematocrit reflects increased red cell mass, as in evaluation of erythrocytosis or suspected polycythemia, rather than a change in plasma volume. Nuclear medicine personnel typically perform the technical work, with a qualified practitioner interpreting the results. The study may be performed in a hospital or an outpatient nuclear medicine department.

Report 78120 for a single red cell mass determination; the distinction from 78121 is whether the study includes multiple determinations. Documentation should identify the red cell mass study and support the single-determination service. Medicare recognizes professional and technical components: report modifier 26 for interpretation, modifier TC for equipment and staff, or no component modifier for the global service. Red cell mass may be assessed with a separate plasma volume study when both measurements are performed and documented.

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 Alabama compares for 78120

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the office rate for 78120 runs from $62.72 in Arkansas to $100.56 in San Benito County, CA. Alabama pays $63.82. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

78120 rates by state

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

See 78120 in every payment locality

How the 78120 rate is calculated

Each of 78120’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 78120

The CMS indicators that decide how 78120 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 26

Codes related to 78120

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

How 78120 has changed in Alabama

Price 78120 for an earlier date of service

Where the Alabama rate applies

Alabama is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 595 cities and communities in Alabama. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Abanda
• Abbeville
• Adamsville
• Addison
• Akron
• Alabaster
• Albertville
• Alexander City

Browse all communities in Alabama

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