HCPCS code A9502: Tetrofosmin, per study dose2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in California

CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for A9502 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 A9502 covers

Technetium-99m tetrofosmin is a radioactive imaging agent administered intravenously for myocardial perfusion studies, commonly used to evaluate blood flow to the heart muscle at rest or with stress. Nuclear medicine departments and imaging centers furnish or administer the agent as part of the imaging encounter.

A9502 represents one diagnostic study dose, not a specified number of millicuries. Medicare assigns this code physician fee schedule status C, or carrier priced: CMS publishes no national payment, and the Medicare Administrative Contractor sets payment for each claim. The HCPCS pricing method is other contractor pricing, and coverage is left to the contractor’s judgment. The imaging service, such as SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging, is represented by its own procedure code.

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 A9502 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 A9502 rate is calculated

Each of A9502’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 A9502

A9502 has no global surgery period, no multiple-procedure, bilateral or assistant-at-surgery adjustment, and no professional/technical split. What changes the payment is where the service happens: the place of service on the claim decides whether Medicare pays the office or the facility rate.

A9502 compared with similar codes

How to choose

A9500Tc-99m sestamibiPer study dose

A9500 is for technetium-99m sestamibi; A9502 is for technetium-99m tetrofosmin. Choose according to the tracer furnished.

A9505Thallium-201Per millicurie

A9505 identifies thallium-201 rather than tetrofosmin. Both are radiopharmaceutical codes used in myocardial perfusion imaging.

A9526Nitrogen-13 ammoniaPer study dose, up to 40 mCi

A9526 identifies nitrogen-13 ammonia for PET imaging, while A9502 identifies tetrofosmin used for myocardial perfusion imaging.

78452Nuclear stress testSPECT, multiple perfusion studies

78452 represents a multiple-study SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging service; A9502 identifies the tetrofosmin dose used for imaging.

Codes related to A9502

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