HCPCS code A9537: Mebrofenin, per study dose, up to 15 mCi2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in California

CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for A9537 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 A9537 covers

Technetium-99m mebrofenin is an intravenously administered radiopharmaceutical used for hepatobiliary scintigraphy, commonly called a HIDA scan. Nuclear medicine teams use the study to assess liver uptake and bile flow through the biliary system, including evaluation of the gallbladder and bile ducts. The radiopharmaceutical supply is reported separately from the imaging service when applicable.

A9537 identifies one diagnostic study dose of up to 15 millicuries; it is not a per-millicurie code. Its Medicare physician fee schedule status is C, meaning CMS publishes no national payment and the Medicare Administrative Contractor prices the claim. HCPCS pricing assigns the item to other contractor pricing, and coverage is left to the Medicare contractor's judgment. The imaging procedure, such as hepatobiliary imaging, is reported with its applicable 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 A9537 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 A9537 rate is calculated

Each of A9537’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 A9537

A9537 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.

A9537 compared with similar codes

How to choose

A9541Sulfur colloidPer study dose

A9537 is mebrofenin for hepatobiliary imaging and bile-flow assessment. A9541 is technetium-99m sulfur colloid, a different tracer used for other imaging purposes.

78226Hepatobiliary imagingWithout drug intervention

A9537 reports the radiopharmaceutical supply. 78226 reports the hepatobiliary imaging procedure.

78227Hepatobiliary scanWith pharmacologic intervention

A9537 identifies mebrofenin supply. 78227 identifies hepatobiliary imaging performed with pharmacologic intervention.

Codes related to A9537

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