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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01

72142 Spine MRI Medicare reimbursement rates in Hawaii

Reports MRI examination of the cervical spine performed after contrast administration, commonly to assess enhancing abnormalities such as suspected infection, tumor, or postoperative change. Compare 72142 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Hawaii.

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 72142 in Hawaii?

Hawaii has 1 payment locality in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the payment area shown below, using the same CMS release.

Office / nonfacility

$300.84

1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.

Payment area: Hawaii, Guam

One mapped payment locality.

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.

Find 72142 in your payment locality →

Diagnostic imaging

About 72142: Cervical spine MRI with contrast

Reports MRI examination of the cervical spine performed after contrast administration, commonly to assess enhancing abnormalities such as suspected infection, tumor, or postoperative change.

This service is an MRI examination of the cervical spine using contrast, with images acquired after contrast administration. It may be used to evaluate enhancing abnormalities, including suspected infection, tumor, or postoperative change. MRI technologists perform the scan in a hospital or freestanding imaging center, and a radiologist interprets the images.

Report 72142 when the documented cervical spine protocol includes contrast imaging only. If the study includes both precontrast and postcontrast imaging, use the code for that combined protocol instead; a study performed without contrast is coded separately. The report should identify the cervical region and the contrast protocol performed. Modifier 26 identifies the professional interpretation, modifier TC identifies the technical service, and an unmodified claim represents the global service. When multiple diagnostic imaging services are performed, the CMS multiple procedure reduction applies to both the professional and technical components.

CMS billing rules for 72142

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 RVU1.74 · 21%
  • Practice expense (office) RVU6.32 · 77%
  • Malpractice RVU0.14 · 2%

2.4K

Medicare services in 2024 · #2334 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.

72142 compared with similar codes

Office rates for Hawaii, from the same CMS release.

72141

Cervical MRI

Without contrast

$208.39

72141 is for a cervical spine MRI without contrast; 72142 is for contrast-only imaging.

72156

Spine MRI

Cervical spine, without and with contrast

$348.35

72156 describes a cervical MRI with both precontrast and postcontrast imaging. Choose 72142 when the protocol is contrast-only.

72126

CT spine

Cervical, contrast only

$184.28

72126 is a cervical spine CT with contrast, not an MRI. The modality documented as performed determines which code applies.

Compare 72142 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.

1 of 1 payment localities

Office and facility base rates · shared scale starting at $0

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How this local rate is calculated

Each RVU component is multiplied by its own geographic practice cost index (GPCI). The three adjusted components are added, then multiplied by the conversion factor. These are the inputs used for 72142 in Hawaii, Guam.

PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv

8,015

Code
72142
Physician work
1.74
Practice expense
6.32
Malpractice
0.14

GPCI2026.csv

46

Locality
Hawaii, Guam
Physician work
1.000
Practice expense
1.137
Malpractice
0.579
Office / nonfacility calculation for 72142 in Hawaii, Guam
ComponentRVULocality factorAdjusted
Physician work1.74× 1.0001.7400
Practice expense6.32× 1.1377.1858
Malpractice0.14× 0.5790.0811
Total RVUs9.0069
Conversion factor× 33.4009

Office / nonfacility rate, Hawaii, Guam$300.84

Values as parsed from CMS release RVU26D, effective 2026-10-01. The amount is rounded to the nearest cent only at the end.
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula

Office / nonfacility

Office / nonfacility calculation inputs
ComponentRVULocal GPCI
Work1.741
Practice expense6.321.137
Malpractice0.140.579

(1.74 × 1 + 6.32 × 1.137 + 0.14 × 0.579) × $33.4009 = $300.84

The office and facility calculations use their respective practice-expense RVUs. The facility amount here is the physician fee, not a separate hospital or facility bill.

72142 billing questions

How does 72142 differ from 72141?

72142 represents a cervical MRI performed with contrast only. Use 72141 when the documented study is performed without contrast.

When should 72156 be used instead?

Use 72156 when the cervical MRI includes both precontrast and postcontrast imaging. Do not select 72142 merely because contrast was used if the study also includes precontrast imaging.

What do modifiers 26 and TC identify?

Modifier 26 identifies the professional interpretation, while TC identifies the technical service, including equipment and staff. Without either modifier, the claim represents the global service.

What documentation supports reporting 72142?

The imaging report and order should support a cervical spine MRI and show that the performed protocol used contrast without precontrast imaging. The findings should correspond to the cervical region examined.

How does the multiple procedure reduction affect this service?

When multiple diagnostic imaging services are performed, CMS applies the multiple procedure reduction to both the professional and technical components of 72142.

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.

RVUs for 72142PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 8,015 (RVU26D)
Geographic factors for Hawaii, GuamGPCI2026.csv, line 46 (RVU26D)