HCPCS code Q9964: Iodinated contrast, high 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 Q9964 covers

Q9964 identifies high-osmolar iodinated contrast material with an iodine concentration of at least 400 mg per mL. It represents the contrast agent used with an imaging service, not the imaging procedure or interpretation. Code selection depends on both the material’s osmolarity category and iodine concentration: high-osmolar material in a lower concentration band is classified under a different code, while low-osmolar material at a similar concentration is classified separately. Each unit represents 1 mL of qualifying contrast.

CMS excludes Q9964 from the physician fee schedule with status E. When Medicare covers the item, payment is made under another payment method. HCPCS pricing designates Q9964 as a Part B drug, generally priced from CMS quarterly Average Sales Price drug files when covered. CMS assigns special Medicare coverage instructions to the 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 Q9964 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

Q9964 rates by state

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

How the Q9964 rate is calculated

Each of Q9964’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 Q9964

Q9964 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.

Q9964 compared with similar codes

How to choose

Q9963Iodinated contrast350–399 mg iodine/mL

Both identify high-osmolar iodinated contrast. Use Q9963 for 350–399 mg iodine per mL and Q9964 for 400 mg per mL or greater.

Q9951Iodinated contrastLow osmolar, 400+ mg/mL

Both identify concentrations of 400 mg iodine per mL or greater, but Q9951 is for low-osmolar material and Q9964 is for high-osmolar material.

Q9967Iodinated contrast300–399 mg iodine/mL

Q9967 identifies low-osmolar contrast in the 300–399 mg iodine-per-mL range; Q9964 identifies high-osmolar contrast at 400 mg per mL or greater.

Codes related to Q9964

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