Billing code 76391: MRI elastographyMedicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $197.40 for 76391 nationally in the office. Local office rates run $173.69–$270.36.

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

What 76391 covers

Magnetic resonance elastography uses MRI and externally generated vibrations to map how mechanical waves move through tissue and estimate its stiffness. It is most often performed to assess liver fibrosis in people with conditions such as chronic hepatitis or fatty liver disease, and can provide information that may help clinicians stage disease without a liver biopsy. The acquisition takes place in an MRI suite, with imaging staff performing the technical work and a radiologist interpreting the study.

Report the service for the elastography examination, supported by documentation of the clinical indication, body site, acquisition, and interpreted findings. When an abdominal MRI is also performed, the conventional MRI service may be separately reported when supported by the record and applicable coding guidance. Bill the global service without a component modifier, modifier 26 for the interpretation alone, or modifier TC for the technical service alone. CMS applies the diagnostic imaging multiple procedure reduction to both the professional and technical components when applicable.

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 76391 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

76391 rates by state

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

How the 76391 rate is calculated

Each of 76391’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 76391

The CMS indicators that decide how 76391 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 26

76391 compared with similar codes

How to choose

76390Mr spectroscopy

76391 assesses tissue stiffness using MRI. Code 76390 is used for MR spectroscopy, which analyzes tissue chemistry.

74181Abdominal MRI

74181 reports abdominal MRI without contrast for anatomic imaging. Code 76391 reports the elastography service that assesses tissue stiffness; both may be performed in one examination.

91200Liver elastography

91200 reports liver transient elastography using a non-MRI technique. Choose 76391 when stiffness is assessed with MRI elastography.

76981Ultrasound elastography

76981 reports ultrasound elastography of parenchymal tissue. Code 76391 is the MRI-based method.

Codes related to 76391

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