Billing code 78483: First-pass cardiac imagingMedicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $219.44 for 78483 nationally in the office. Local office rates run $194.32–$298.16.

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

What 78483 covers

This nuclear cardiology study uses rapid sequential imaging after a radionuclide bolus to capture its passage through the heart. It can provide information about ventricular ejection fraction and wall motion and, when evaluated, right ventricular function or an intracardiac shunt. A nuclear medicine or cardiology imaging team typically performs the acquisition in a hospital or other diagnostic imaging setting, with a qualified physician interpreting the study. Multiple studies may include rest and stress acquisitions, using exercise or pharmacologic stress when performed.

Report 78483 when the service includes multiple first-pass studies; use the single-study code 78481 when only one study is performed. Documentation should identify the number and circumstances of the acquisitions, such as rest or stress, and the findings interpreted. The global service is billed without a component modifier. Modifier 26 identifies the professional interpretation, while modifier TC identifies the technical service, including equipment and staff. The cardiovascular diagnostic multiple procedure reduction applies to the technical component.

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 78483 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

78483 rates by state

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

How the 78483 rate is calculated

Each of 78483’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 78483

The CMS indicators that decide how 78483 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 26

78483 compared with similar codes

How to choose

78481Cardiac function imaging

Both use first-pass imaging, but 78481 is for a single study; 78483 is for multiple studies.

78472Cardiac blood-pool imaging

78472 uses the gated equilibrium technique for a single study. Choose 78483 when multiple first-pass studies are performed.

78473Gated heart imaging

78473 describes multiple gated equilibrium studies. 78483 describes multiple studies using first-pass imaging.

Codes related to 78483

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