$259.84–$336.01
78801 is for imaging two or more selected areas on one day; 78802 is for whole-body imaging on one day.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
78802 Tumor imaging Medicare reimbursement rates in California
Reports single-day whole-body nuclear medicine imaging to localize radiopharmaceutical-avid tumor activity, rather than imaging limited regions or using a multi-day protocol. Compare 78802 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 78802 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
$292.60–$378.58
29 of 29 localities have a supported rate.
Lowest: Chico
Highest: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty)
A spread of $85.98 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 78802 pays more and less in California
29 payment localities
$292.60 to $378.58
Nuclear medicine
About 78802: Whole-body tumor-localization imaging
Reports single-day whole-body nuclear medicine imaging to localize radiopharmaceutical-avid tumor activity, rather than imaging limited regions or using a multi-day protocol.
This code describes a nuclear medicine study in which a radiopharmaceutical is used to identify tumor-related activity throughout the body, with imaging performed on a single day. A nuclear medicine technologist acquires the images, and a qualified interpreting physician evaluates and reports the findings. The service is typically performed in a hospital or outpatient nuclear medicine department for tumor localization or assessment.
Select this code when the documented study covers the whole body and imaging occurs on one day; imaging limited to selected areas, SPECT, or a multi-day schedule points to a different code. The report should support the radiopharmaceutical study, whole-body coverage, imaging date, and interpretation. The injection procedure is represented separately by 78808 when performed and reportable. The service may be billed globally, or split between the interpretation with modifier 26 and the equipment and staff with modifier TC. CMS diagnostic imaging multiple procedure reduction applies to both the technical and professional components.
CMS billing rules for 78802
- 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.
- Multiple procedures
- Diagnostic imaging multiple procedure reduction applies to the technical and professional components.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU0.78 · 10%
- Practice expense (office) RVU7.23 · 89%
- Malpractice RVU0.08 · 1%
5.7K
Medicare services in 2024 · #1788 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.
78802 compared with similar codes
Office rates for California, from the same CMS release.
$609.99–$794.36
Both describe whole-body tumor-localization imaging, but 78804 is for imaging over two or more days.
$363.24–$469.27
78803 identifies SPECT imaging of one area. 78802 describes a single-day whole-body study.
$455.18–$587.16
78830 describes tumor-localization SPECT imaging with CT for one area; 78802 is the single-day whole-body study.
Compare 78802 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 $292.85 | Facility Unavailable |
| Chico | Office $292.60 | Facility Unavailable |
| El Centro | Office $292.61 | Facility Unavailable |
| Fresno | Office $292.60 | Facility Unavailable |
| Hanford-Corcoran | Office $292.60 | Facility Unavailable |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (Los Angeles/Orange Cnty) | Office $314.58 | Facility Unavailable |
| Madera | Office $292.60 | Facility Unavailable |
| Merced | Office $292.60 | Facility Unavailable |
| Modesto | Office $292.60 | Facility Unavailable |
| Napa | Office $347.33 | Facility Unavailable |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura | Office $313.89 | Facility Unavailable |
| Redding | Office $292.60 | Facility Unavailable |
| Rest Of California | Office $292.60 | Facility Unavailable |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | Office $293.47 | Facility Unavailable |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom | Office $309.27 | Facility Unavailable |
| Salinas | Office $308.18 | Facility Unavailable |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad | Office $317.10 | Facility Unavailable |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (Marin Cnty) | Office $370.25 | Facility Unavailable |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (San Francisco/San Mateo/Alameda/Contra Costa Cnty) | Office $370.16 | Facility Unavailable |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty) | Office $378.58 | Facility Unavailable |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (Santa Clara Cnty) | Office $378.21 | Facility Unavailable |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles | Office $302.98 | Facility Unavailable |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville | Office $321.44 | Facility Unavailable |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara | Office $309.79 | Facility Unavailable |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma | Office $324.81 | Facility Unavailable |
| Stockton | Office $292.60 | Facility Unavailable |
| Vallejo | Office $347.20 | Facility Unavailable |
| Visalia | Office $292.60 | Facility Unavailable |
| Yuba City | Office $292.60 | Facility Unavailable |
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78802 billing questions
How does 78802 differ from imaging of multiple body areas?
Use 78802 for a whole-body study performed on one day. Imaging of two or more selected areas is represented by 78801 rather than whole-body coverage.
When should 78804 be used instead?
78804 describes whole-body imaging performed over two or more days. The imaging schedule, not simply the number of images, distinguishes it from 78802.
Is the radiopharmaceutical injection included?
The injection procedure is represented by 78808 when performed and reportable. Document the injection separately from the imaging and interpretation.
When should modifier 26 or TC be reported?
Use modifier 26 for the professional interpretation and modifier TC for the technical service, including equipment and staff. Without either modifier, the claim represents the global service.
Does the multiple procedure reduction affect both components?
Yes. CMS diagnostic imaging multiple procedure reduction applies to both the technical and professional components.
What documentation supports 78802?
Record the radiopharmaceutical study, whole-body coverage, the date imaging was performed, and the physician's interpretation. The documentation should distinguish a single-day whole-body protocol from a limited-area or multi-day 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.
9,51578801,,Rp loclzj tum 2+area 1+d img,A,,0.71,6.40,,6.40,NA,0.08,7.19,7.19,1,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,12.39,12.39,0.12
9,51678801,26,Rp loclzj tum 2+area 1+d img,A,,0.71,0.24,,0.24,,0.04,0.99,0.99,1,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
9,51778801,TC,Rp loclzj tum 2+area 1+d img,A,,0.00,6.16,,6.16,NA,0.04,6.20,6.20,1,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,01,0,99,12.15,12.15,0.08
9,51878802,,Rp loclzj tum whbdy 1 d img,A,,0.78,7.23,,7.23,NA,0.08,8.09,8.09,1,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,4,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,88,16.76,16.76,0.14
9,51978802,26,Rp loclzj tum whbdy 1 d img,A,,0.78,0.25,,0.25,,0.04,1.07,1.07,1,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,4,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,88,0.00,0.00,0.00
9,52078802,TC,Rp loclzj tum whbdy 1 d img,A,,0.00,6.98,,6.98,NA,0.04,7.02,7.02,1,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,4,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,01,0,88,16.51,16.51,0.10
9,52178803,,Rp loclzj tum spect 1 area,A,,1.06,8.89,,8.89,NA,0.10,10.05,10.05,1,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,4,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,88,16.87,16.87,0.15