CPT code 94760: Pulse oximetry, single determination2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in California

Medicare pays $4.21–$5.48 for 94760 in the office in California, from Chico, CA to San Benito County, CA. Which amount applies depends on the service address.

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

What 94760 covers

This service records one oxygen-saturation reading using a noninvasive ear or pulse oximeter, commonly a fingertip sensor. Clinical staff may obtain it in a physician office, clinic, or hospital outpatient setting during assessment of dyspnea, respiratory symptoms, or oxygenation. The service represents a spot measurement, not a series of readings or prolonged monitoring. The code covers the technical measurement; a separate code covers interpretation when that service is furnished and reportable.

Report one determination when the service consists of a single reading. Documentation should identify the measurement and clinical context and support that only one determination was performed. CMS classifies this as a minor service payable only when no other physician service is billed for the same date. When an E/M service or another physician service is billed that day, 94760 is not separately payable under this rule. CMS assigns no physician work RVU to the technical 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 94760 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 94760 rate is calculated

Each of 94760’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 94760

The CMS indicators that decide how 94760 is paid alongside other services.

94760 compared with similar codes

How to choose

94761Pulse oximetryMultiple determinations

Choose 94760 for one oxygen-saturation determination; choose 94761 when multiple determinations are performed.

94762Overnight oximetryContinuous overnight monitoring

94762 describes continuous overnight oximetry. A single spot reading is reported with 94760.

Codes related to 94760

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