CPT code 78811: PET imaging, limited area2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in California

CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for 78811 in California.

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

What 78811 covers

This service captures positron emission tomography images of a focused body region, such as the chest, head and neck, abdomen, or pelvis. A nuclear medicine or radiology imaging team performs the scan, and a qualified physician interprets it. PET imaging may be used to assess suspected or known disease, including cancer, in the area selected for the clinical question. This code describes PET imaging without the CT component represented by PET/CT codes.

Medicare lists 78811 with physician fee schedule status C, meaning there is no national payment amount and the Medicare Administrative Contractor sets payment for each claim. The service has professional and technical components: modifier 26 identifies the interpretation, modifier TC identifies the equipment and staff service, and no modifier represents the global service. The code represents one PET imaging study of a limited body area.

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 78811 pays more and less in California

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

29 of 29 payment localities

How the 78811 rate is calculated

Each of 78811’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 78811

The CMS indicators that decide how 78811 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 26

78811 compared with similar codes

How to choose

78812PET imagingSkull base to mid-thigh

78812 covers the skull-to-mid-thigh region. Choose 78811 when the PET study is limited to a smaller body area.

78813Whole-body PETWithout CT

78813 represents whole-body PET imaging; 78811 is for a limited area.

78814PET with CTLimited area

Both describe limited-area imaging, but 78814 includes CT and 78811 describes PET imaging without CT.

78815PET/CT imagingSkull base to mid-thigh

78815 combines PET and CT for skull-to-mid-thigh coverage. 78811 is limited-area PET imaging without CT.

Codes related to 78811

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