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HCPCS code Q9957: Perflutren contrast, per ml2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Perflutren lipid microsphere contrast improves ultrasound visualization during echocardiography and is reported according to the volume administered.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities

Medicare rate · Q9957

Perflutren contrast, 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 Q9957 →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 Q9957 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 Q9957 covers

Perflutren lipid microspheres are an intravenously administered ultrasound contrast agent used during echocardiography to improve visualization of cardiac structures, including chamber opacification and endocardial borders. Echocardiography services using this agent may be performed in hospital imaging departments or outpatient cardiology settings. The contrast material is distinct from the echocardiographic imaging service, which is reported with its own procedure code.

Q9957 identifies the agent by volume, with one unit representing 1 mL. CMS assigns physician fee schedule status E, excluding the code from that schedule by regulation. When Medicare covers the item, payment is made under another method; HCPCS pricing is other contractor pricing, meaning the Medicare contractor sets payment. Coverage is left to the Medicare contractor’s judgment. Report the number of units corresponding to the volume 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 Q9957 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

Q9957 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

Q9957 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
Q9957 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 Q9957 rate is calculated

Each of Q9957’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 · Q9957

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 Q9957

Q9957 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 · Q9957

Which rate does Medicare pay?

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

POS 11 · non-facility rate · national

—

Q9957 isn’t priced in this setting.

Q9957 compared with similar codes

Compare codes · National

4 codes, side by side

Office or facility?

  • Q9957

    Perflutren contrast, per ml0 wRVU

    Not priced

  • Q9950

    Sulfur hexafluoride, per mL0 wRVU

    Not priced

  • Q9955

    Perflexane injection, per milliliter0 wRVU

    Not priced

  • Q9956

    Ultrasound contrast, per mL0 wRVU

    Not priced

How to choose

Q9950Sulfur hexafluoridePer mL
Use Q9957 for perflutren lipid microspheres; Q9950 identifies sulfur hexafluoride lipid microspheres.
Q9955Perflexane injectionPer milliliter
Q9955 identifies perflexane lipid microspheres. Q9957 identifies perflutren lipid microspheres.
Q9956Ultrasound contrastPer mL
Q9956 identifies octafluoropropane microspheres. Choose Q9957 when the administered agent is perflutren lipid microspheres.

Codes related to Q9957

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

Codes related to Q9957
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Used instead
Q9950Sulfur hexafluoride, per mLIdentifies sulfur hexafluoride lipid microsphere contrast rather than perflutren lipid microspheres.No office rate
Q9955Perflexane injection, per milliliterIdentifies perflexane lipid microsphere ultrasound contrast instead of perflutren.No office rate
Q9956Ultrasound contrast, per mLIdentifies octafluoropropane microsphere contrast rather than perflutren lipid microspheres.No office rate
Often billed with
93306Echocardiogram (TTE), complete, with spectral and color DopplerComplete transthoracic echocardiography may be performed with contrast agent administration.$174.76–$265.52

Q9957 billing questions

What does one unit of Q9957 represent?

One unit represents 1 mL of perflutren lipid microspheres administered. Report units according to the volume given.

How is Q9957 different from Q9950?

Q9957 identifies perflutren lipid microspheres, while Q9950 identifies sulfur hexafluoride lipid microspheres. Select the code for the agent administered.

Is Q9957 the code for the echocardiography service?

No. Q9957 identifies the contrast agent; the echocardiography code identifies the imaging service.

How does Medicare price Q9957?

CMS excludes Q9957 from the physician fee schedule under status E. When Medicare covers it, payment is made under another method, with the Medicare contractor setting payment.

Does Medicare cover Q9957?

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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