$42.63–$54.38
Use 72040 for two or three cervical views; use 72052 when six or more views are obtained.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
72052 Cervical X-ray Medicare reimbursement rates in California
Reports cervical spine radiography with six or more views, such as a detailed study for neck pain, alignment concerns, or selected injury evaluation. Compare 72052 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in California.
Amounts below use the non-QP conversion factor for participating physicians. These are base physician payments before claim-level adjustments, not patient costs or total hospital charges.
What does Medicare pay for 72052 in California?
California has 29 payment localities in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the 29 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
$67.50–$86.42
29 of 29 localities have a supported rate.
Lowest: Chico
Highest: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty)
A spread of $18.92 per service.
Facility setting
No supported rate
These are locality ranges, not averages or address-specific quotes. A facility-setting amount covers the physician service; it does not include a hospital’s separate bill. Choose a locality below to inspect its calculation, compare other payment areas, or price a percentage of Medicare.
Where 72052 pays more and less in California
29 payment localities
$67.50 to $86.42
Diagnostic radiology
About 72052: Cervical spine radiograph, six or more views
Reports cervical spine radiography with six or more views, such as a detailed study for neck pain, alignment concerns, or selected injury evaluation.
This service covers X-ray imaging of the cervical spine using at least six views. A radiologic technologist typically obtains the images, and a radiologist or other qualified physician interprets them. It may be ordered for neck pain or to evaluate suspected degenerative changes, alignment abnormalities, or selected injuries when cervical radiographs are appropriate. The study may be performed in an imaging center, hospital, or office with radiographic equipment.
Choose this code from the number of views obtained for the cervical examination, not simply from the order wording. The report and imaging record should support the cervical anatomy examined, the views acquired, and the physician’s interpretation. Bill the global service without a component modifier when one entity provides both imaging and interpretation. If those services are split, modifier 26 identifies the professional interpretation and modifier TC identifies the technical service, including equipment and staff.
CMS billing rules for 72052
- Professional and technical components
- Diagnostic test with a professional component (modifier 26, interpretation) and a technical component (modifier TC, equipment and staff); billing without a modifier is the global service.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU0.29 · 15%
- Practice expense (office) RVU1.56 · 83%
- Malpractice RVU0.03 · 2%
57.4K
Medicare services in 2024 · #729 by national volume
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.
72052 compared with similar codes
Office rates for California, from the same CMS release.
$59.15–$75.68
72050 covers four or five cervical views. The view count for the completed study distinguishes it from 72052.
$106.19–$136.44
72084 is for a study of the entire spine with six or more views, not a cervical-only examination.
Compare 72052 by payment locality
Find the payment area for your service address, then open its rate page for calculation inputs, release history and the percentage-of-Medicare tool. A city may cross payment-area boundaries; the ZIP lookup above helps resolve the location.
29 of 29 payment localities
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Bakersfield | Office $67.59 | Facility Unavailable |
| Chico | Office $67.50 | Facility Unavailable |
| El Centro | Office $67.50 | Facility Unavailable |
| Fresno | Office $67.50 | Facility Unavailable |
| Hanford-Corcoran | Office $67.50 | Facility Unavailable |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (Los Angeles/Orange Cnty) | Office $72.39 | Facility Unavailable |
| Madera | Office $67.50 | Facility Unavailable |
| Merced | Office $67.50 | Facility Unavailable |
| Modesto | Office $67.50 | Facility Unavailable |
| Napa | Office $79.48 | Facility Unavailable |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura | Office $72.17 | Facility Unavailable |
| Redding | Office $67.50 | Facility Unavailable |
| Rest Of California | Office $67.50 | Facility Unavailable |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | Office $67.82 | Facility Unavailable |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom | Office $71.17 | Facility Unavailable |
| Salinas | Office $70.91 | Facility Unavailable |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad | Office $72.84 | Facility Unavailable |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (Marin Cnty) | Office $84.54 | Facility Unavailable |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (San Francisco/San Mateo/Alameda/Contra Costa Cnty) | Office $84.50 | Facility Unavailable |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty) | Office $86.42 | Facility Unavailable |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (Santa Clara Cnty) | Office $86.29 | Facility Unavailable |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles | Office $69.74 | Facility Unavailable |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville | Office $73.73 | Facility Unavailable |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara | Office $71.25 | Facility Unavailable |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma | Office $74.50 | Facility Unavailable |
| Stockton | Office $67.50 | Facility Unavailable |
| Vallejo | Office $79.43 | Facility Unavailable |
| Visalia | Office $67.50 | Facility Unavailable |
| Yuba City | Office $67.50 | Facility Unavailable |
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72052 billing questions
How does this differ from 72050?
72052 applies when the cervical study includes six or more views. Use 72050 when four or five views were obtained.
How does this differ from 72040?
72040 is for a cervical study with two or three views. Select among these codes based on the views actually acquired.
Can the professional and technical services be billed separately?
Yes. Modifier 26 identifies the professional interpretation, and modifier TC identifies the technical service. Without either modifier, the claim represents the global service.
Do flexion and extension images count toward the view total?
Count the views obtained as part of the cervical examination, including flexion or extension views when they are acquired and documented as part of that study.
Should 72050 also be reported for the same cervical study?
Do not report a lower-view cervical code separately for the same set of images. Use the code matching the total number of views for the study.
Where these rates come from
FeeBase calculates base physician payments from CMS work, practice-expense, and malpractice RVUs, adjusted by each locality’s geographic indices and the applicable conversion factor. Unavailable or separately priced services are labeled rather than assigned a made-up amount.
Source: RVU26D. Effective 2026-10-01 through the day before 2027-01-01.
7,94372050,,X-ray exam neck spine 4/5vws,A,,0.26,1.36,,1.36,NA,0.03,1.65,1.65,1,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,3.28,3.28,0.05
7,94472050,26,X-ray exam neck spine 4/5vws,A,,0.26,0.11,,0.11,,0.02,0.39,0.39,1,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,94572050,TC,X-ray exam neck spine 4/5vws,A,,0.00,1.25,,1.25,NA,0.01,1.26,1.26,1,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,01,0,99,3.17,3.17,0.03
7,94672052,,X-ray exam neck spine 6/>vws,A,,0.29,1.56,,1.56,NA,0.03,1.88,1.88,1,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,3.30,3.30,0.04
7,94772052,26,X-ray exam neck spine 6/>vws,A,,0.29,0.12,,0.12,,0.02,0.43,0.43,1,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,94872052,TC,X-ray exam neck spine 6/>vws,A,,0.00,1.44,,1.44,NA,0.01,1.45,1.45,1,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,01,0,99,3.18,3.18,0.02
7,94972070,,X-ray exam thorac spine 2vws,A,,0.20,0.77,,0.77,NA,0.02,0.99,0.99,1,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,3.23,3.23,0.06