Billing code 77080: DXA bone density scanMedicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $39.41 for 77080 nationally in the office. Local office rates run $34.57–$54.01.

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

What 77080 covers

Axial DXA uses low-dose X-rays to measure bone mineral density at one or more central sites, usually the lumbar spine and proximal femur. It helps evaluate osteoporosis risk and monitor response to treatment. A technologist positions the patient and acquires images in an imaging center, physician office, or hospital outpatient department. A radiologist or another qualified interpreting physician evaluates the results, including applicable T-scores or Z-scores, and signs the report.

Report one unit of 77080 for an axial DXA session, whether one or multiple axial sites are measured. If the same session includes DXA vertebral fracture assessment, report the combined service with 77085 instead. Record the clinical indication, measured sites, and signed interpretation. CMS separately prices the technical component, billed with modifier TC for equipment and staff, and the professional component, billed with modifier 26 for interpretation and report. When one billing entity furnishes both components, report the global service without a component modifier.

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 77080 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

77080 rates by state

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

How the 77080 rate is calculated

Each of 77080’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 77080

The CMS indicators that decide how 77080 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 26

77080 compared with similar codes

How to choose

77085DXA bone density

Choose 77085 when the session includes both axial bone density measurement and DXA vertebral fracture assessment; 77080 covers the axial density study without that assessment.

77081Bone density

77081 measures appendicular sites such as the forearm or heel. Choose 77080 for an axial DXA study of sites such as the lumbar spine or hip.

77078CT bone density

77078 measures axial bone density using quantitative CT; 77080 uses dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.

77086Vertebral fracture assessment

77086 describes DXA vertebral fracture assessment without an axial bone density study. When both are performed in the same session, report the combined service with 77085 instead of 77080 and 77086.

Codes related to 77080

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