HCPCS code A9505: Thallium-201, per millicurie2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Illinois
Reports thallium-201 supplied for diagnostic nuclear imaging, most commonly myocardial perfusion studies, with each unit representing one millicurie.
CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for A9505 in Illinois.
Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.
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On this page 9 sections
What A9505 covers
Thallium-201 thallous chloride is a diagnostic radiopharmaceutical given intravenously for nuclear medicine imaging. It is used most often for myocardial perfusion studies to assess blood flow to the heart muscle, including stress and rest imaging. Nuclear medicine departments, imaging facilities, and practitioners billing for the radiopharmaceutical may report this HCPCS Level II code alongside the applicable imaging service.
The physician fee schedule status is C, meaning Medicare 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 code is reported per millicurie: each billing unit represents 1 mCi of thallium-201. The code identifies the radiopharmaceutical, not the image acquisition or interpretation.
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 A9505 pays more and less in Illinois
The same RVUs, adjusted for each area’s costs. Open a locality for its calculation, history and nearby areas.
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago, IL | Unavailable | Unavailable |
| East St. Louis, IL | Unavailable | Unavailable |
| Rest of Illinois | Unavailable | Unavailable |
| Suburban Chicago, IL | Unavailable | Unavailable |
How the A9505 rate is calculated
Each of A9505’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.
How the rate is built · A9505
RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor
Work0.00
0.00 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Practice expense0.00
0.00 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Malpractice0.00
0.00 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Adjusted RVUs
0.0000
Conversion factor
$33.4009
Medicare rate
$0.00
Every GPCI starts at 1.000, the national rate. Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.
Payment rules and modifiers for A9505
A9505 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.
Place of service · A9505
Which rate does Medicare pay?
The POS code on the claim line (CMS-1500 box 24B).
POS 11 · non-facility rate · national
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A9505 isn’t priced in this setting.
A9505 compared with similar codes
Compare codes · National
4 codes, side by side
How to choose
- A9500Tc-99m sestamibiPer study dose
- A9500 identifies technetium-99m sestamibi, not thallium-201. Both may be used for myocardial perfusion imaging, but the reported code follows the radiopharmaceutical supplied.
- A9502TetrofosminPer study dose
- A9502 is for technetium-99m tetrofosmin. Use A9505 for thallium-201 thallous chloride.
- A9526Nitrogen-13 ammoniaPer study dose, up to 40 mCi
- A9526 identifies nitrogen-13 ammonia, a PET tracer for myocardial perfusion imaging; A9505 identifies thallium-201.
A9505 billing questions
How many units should be reported?
Report the number of millicuries of thallium-201 represented by the billed amount. One unit represents 1 mCi.
When is A9505 chosen instead of a technetium cardiac tracer?
A9505 identifies thallium-201 thallous chloride. Codes such as A9500 and A9502 identify different radiopharmaceuticals used for myocardial perfusion imaging.
Does A9505 include the nuclear imaging service?
A9505 identifies the thallium-201 radiopharmaceutical, not image acquisition or interpretation.
How does Medicare set payment and coverage?
The physician fee schedule status is C, so there is no national payment amount; the Medicare contractor sets payment for each claim. Coverage is left to the contractor's judgment.
What documentation supports the units?
Documentation should identify the thallium-201 radiopharmaceutical and the millicurie amount associated with the claim.
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.
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