HCPCS code A9552: FDG, per study dose2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in California

CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for A9552 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 A9552 covers

Fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) is an intravenously administered radiopharmaceutical used to trace glucose metabolism during PET imaging. It is commonly used in oncologic evaluation and also in selected cardiac and neurologic studies. Nuclear medicine departments, hospital imaging services, and independent PET centers typically report the radiopharmaceutical supply when administering FDG for a diagnostic study; the PET acquisition is a separate service.

A9552 represents one study dose containing up to 45 millicuries, not a unit for each millicurie. Its physician fee schedule status is C: CMS publishes no national physician fee schedule payment, and the Medicare Administrative Contractor sets payment for the claim. The HCPCS pricing method identifies payment as set by statute. CMS leaves coverage to the Medicare contractor’s judgment, so the code alone does not establish coverage for a particular indication.

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 A9552 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 A9552 rate is calculated

Each of A9552’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 A9552

A9552 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.

A9552 compared with similar codes

How to choose

A9555Rubidium-82Per study dose, up to 60 mCi

A9552 identifies fluorine-18 FDG for metabolic PET imaging. A9555 identifies rubidium-82, commonly used for PET myocardial perfusion imaging.

A9557Tc-99m bicisatePer study dose

A9552 is an FDG PET radiopharmaceutical. A9557 is technetium-99m bicisate used for brain perfusion SPECT imaging.

78815PET/CT imagingSkull base to mid-thigh

A9552 identifies the FDG dose. 78815 describes a PET/CT imaging service covering the skull base through the mid-thigh.

Codes related to A9552

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