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HCPCS code Q9950: Sulfur hexafluoride, per mL2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Reports sulfur hexafluoride lipid microspheres administered as ultrasound contrast, including during echocardiography and selected liver or urinary tract imaging.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities

Medicare rate · Q9950

Sulfur hexafluoride, per mL

Office or facility?

Work RVUs
0
Total RVUs
0.00
Global days
XXX

National rate · 2026

—

Not priced in the facility setting.

See every locality for Q9950 →Billed by an NP, PA or therapist? →

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

Your location

Medicare pays by the payment locality where the service is performed.

On this page 10 sections
  1. Medicare rate
  2. What Q9950 covers
  3. By payment locality
  4. Rate map
  5. How it’s calculated
  6. Payment rules
  7. Similar codes
  8. Related codes
  9. Billing questions
  10. Sources

What Q9950 covers

Q9950 identifies sulfur hexafluoride lipid microspheres used to enhance ultrasound images. Clinicians administer the agent during echocardiography to improve visualization of cardiac structures, or imaging teams may use it for liver lesion characterization and pediatric urinary tract ultrasound. The route depends on the examination: it is given intravenously for cardiac and liver imaging, and intravesically for certain pediatric urinary tract studies. The code represents the contrast agent, not the ultrasound examination itself.

CMS assigns status E, excluding Q9950 from the physician fee schedule by regulation. When Medicare covers the item, payment is made under another payment method; the HCPCS pricing method is other contractor pricing, so the Medicare contractor sets payment. Coverage is also left to the contractor’s judgment. Report the amount administered in milliliters: one unit represents 1 mL of the agent.

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 Q9950 pays more and less

The same RVUs, adjusted for each area’s costs. Open a locality for its calculation, history and nearby areas.

109 of 109 payment localities

Q9950 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailableUnavailable
AlaskaUnavailableUnavailable
ArizonaUnavailableUnavailable
ArkansasUnavailableUnavailable
Atlanta, GAUnavailableUnavailable
Austin, TXUnavailableUnavailable
Bakersfield, CAUnavailableUnavailable
Baltimore area, MDUnavailableUnavailable
Beaumont, TXUnavailableUnavailable
Brazoria, TXUnavailableUnavailable

Q9950 rates by state

Office rate range in each state. Select a state to see its payment localities.

MEWIVTNHMTNDMNMINYMARIWAIDWYSDIAILINOHPANJCTORNVUTCONEMOKYWVVAMDDECAAZNMKSOKARTNNCSCDCTXLAMSALGAFLAKHI

Explore a state

Local rates. Clear comparisons.

Hover or focus a tile to see its rate range. Select it to open the state’s fee schedule.

View every state and territory as a table
Q9950 office rate range by state
State / territoryOffice rate rangeLocalities
AKNo published base rate1
ALNo published base rate1
ARNo published base rate1
AZNo published base rate1
CANo published base rate29
CONo published base rate1
CTNo published base rate1
DCNo published base rate1
DENo published base rate1
FLNo published base rate3
GANo published base rate2
GUNo published base rate1
HINo published base rate1
IANo published base rate1
IDNo published base rate1
ILNo published base rate4
INNo published base rate1
KSNo published base rate1
KYNo published base rate1
LANo published base rate2
MANo published base rate2
MDNo published base rate3
MENo published base rate2
MINo published base rate2
MNNo published base rate1
MONo published base rate3
MSNo published base rate1
MTNo published base rate1
NCNo published base rate1
NDNo published base rate1
NENo published base rate1
NHNo published base rate1
NJNo published base rate2
NMNo published base rate1
NVNo published base rate1
NYNo published base rate5
OHNo published base rate1
OKNo published base rate1
ORNo published base rate2
PANo published base rate2
PRNo published base rate1
RINo published base rate1
SCNo published base rate1
SDNo published base rate1
TNNo published base rate1
TXNo published base rate8
UTNo published base rate1
VANo published base rate2
VINo published base rate1
VTNo published base rate1
WANo published base rate2
WINo published base rate1
WVNo published base rate1
WYNo published base rate1

How the Q9950 rate is calculated

Each of Q9950’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 · Q9950

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Office or facility?

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 Q9950

Q9950 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 · Q9950

Which rate does Medicare pay?

The POS code on the claim line (CMS-1500 box 24B).

POS 11 · non-facility rate · national

—

Q9950 isn’t priced in this setting.

Q9950 compared with similar codes

Compare codes · National

4 codes, side by side

Office or facility?

  • Q9950

    Sulfur hexafluoride, per mL0 wRVU

    Not priced

  • Q9955

    Perflexane injection, per milliliter0 wRVU

    Not priced

  • Q9956

    Ultrasound contrast, per mL0 wRVU

    Not priced

  • Q9957

    Perflutren contrast, per ml0 wRVU

    Not priced

How to choose

Q9955Perflexane injectionPer milliliter
Use Q9950 for sulfur hexafluoride lipid microspheres. Q9955 identifies perflexane lipid microspheres instead.
Q9956Ultrasound contrastPer mL
Q9950 identifies sulfur hexafluoride lipid microspheres; Q9956 identifies an octafluoropropane microsphere agent.
Q9957Perflutren contrastPer ml
Q9950 is for sulfur hexafluoride lipid microspheres. Q9957 is for perflutren lipid microspheres.

Codes related to Q9950

Related codes aren’t interchangeable: bill the code that matches the service performed.

Codes related to Q9950
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Used instead
Q9955Perflexane injection, per milliliterIdentifies perflexane lipid microspheres, a different ultrasound contrast agent.No office rate
Q9956Ultrasound contrast, per mLIdentifies an octafluoropropane microsphere agent, distinct from sulfur hexafluoride.No office rate
Q9957Perflutren contrast, per mlIdentifies perflutren lipid microspheres, a different ultrasound contrast agent.No office rate

Q9950 billing questions

How many units represent the administered dose?

Each unit represents 1 mL. Report the number of milliliters administered.

Is Q9950 the code for the ultrasound examination?

No. It identifies the sulfur hexafluoride lipid microsphere contrast agent; the imaging service is identified separately.

How does Q9950 differ from Q9957?

Q9950 is for sulfur hexafluoride lipid microspheres. Q9957 identifies perflutren lipid microspheres, a different ultrasound contrast agent.

Does Medicare pay Q9950 under the physician fee schedule?

No. CMS assigns status E, excluding it from the physician fee schedule. When covered, payment is under another method, with the contractor setting payment.

Who determines whether Medicare covers Q9950?

Coverage is left to the Medicare contractor’s judgment.

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

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