HCPCS code Q9951: Iodinated contrast, low osmolar, 400+ mg/mL2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

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

What Q9951 covers

This HCPCS Level II code identifies low-osmolar contrast material containing 400 mg or more of iodine per milliliter. It is used as an imaging contrast agent to improve visualization during diagnostic radiographic studies, including CT and angiographic examinations. Radiology and imaging facilities report the contrast material used for the study. Choose the code based on the agent's osmolarity and iodine concentration, not simply the type of examination.

CMS assigns physician fee schedule status E, so the code is excluded from the physician fee schedule. When Medicare covers the item, payment is made under another method. CMS classifies it as a Part B drug; when covered, Medicare generally pays through the quarterly Average Sales Price (ASP) drug pricing files. Special Medicare coverage instructions apply. The code is reported per milliliter: one unit represents 1 mL, and units reflect the volume of contrast material administered.

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 Q9951 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

Q9951 rates by state

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

How the Q9951 rate is calculated

Each of Q9951’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 Q9951

Q9951 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.

Q9951 compared with similar codes

How to choose

Q9964Iodinated contrastHigh osmolar, 400+ mg/mL

Both codes cover the 400 mg/mL-and-higher iodine concentration tier. Choose Q9951 for low-osmolar material and Q9964 for high-osmolar material.

Q9967Iodinated contrast300–399 mg iodine/mL

Q9967 is for low-osmolar contrast at 300–399 mg/mL iodine; Q9951 is for low-osmolar contrast at 400 mg/mL or higher.

Q9966Low-osmolar contrast200-299 mg iodine/ml

Q9966 covers low-osmolar contrast at 200–299 mg/mL iodine, below Q9951’s 400 mg/mL threshold.

Codes related to Q9951

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