Billing code 93015: Cardiac stress testMedicare rate & RVUs in Illinois
Report the complete exercise or pharmacologic cardiovascular stress test when one billing entity furnishes supervision, ECG tracing, and interpretation with a report.
Medicare pays $70.08–$75.97 for 93015 in the office in Illinois, from Rest Of Illinois to Suburban Chicago. Which amount applies depends on the service address.
Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.
On this page 9 sections
What 93015 covers
This service is a cardiovascular stress test, commonly performed on a treadmill using a graded protocol, on a bicycle ergometer, or with a pharmacologic agent when exercise is unsuitable. ECG activity is recorded during stress and recovery while heart rate, blood pressure, symptoms, and arrhythmias are assessed. A physician or other qualified health care professional supervises the test, and a clinician interprets the results and prepares a report. The complete service is commonly furnished in cardiology offices and outpatient clinics with testing staff and equipment.
Report 93015 when one billing entity furnishes supervision, tracing, and interpretation with a report. It is a global-test-only code; use the separate component codes when entities split the work rather than appending modifier 26 or TC. Documentation should identify the exercise protocol or pharmacologic agent, workload or administered dose as appropriate, heart rate and blood pressure response, symptoms, ECG findings, reason for stopping, and signed interpretation. When multiple eligible cardiovascular diagnostic services are furnished for the same patient on the same date, the CMS multiple procedure reduction affects the technical component of the lower-ranked service or services.
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 93015 pays more and less in Illinois
The same RVUs, adjusted for each area’s costs. Open a locality for its calculation, history and nearby areas.
4 payment localities
$70.08 to $75.97
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago | $75.62 | Unavailable |
| East St. Louis | $71.02 | Unavailable |
| Rest Of Illinois | $70.08 | Unavailable |
| Suburban Chicago | $75.97 | Unavailable |
How the 93015 rate is calculated
Each of 93015’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.
How the rate is built · 93015
RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor
Work0.73
0.73 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Practice expense1.43
1.43 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Malpractice0.04
0.04 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Adjusted RVUs
2.2000
Conversion factor
$33.4009
Medicare rate
$73.48
Every GPCI starts at 1.000, the national rate. Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.
Payment rules and modifiers for 93015
The CMS indicators that decide how 93015 is paid alongside other services.
CMS payment indicators · 93015
Cardiac stress test
| Rule | CMS value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Global period | XXX | The global surgery concept doesn’t apply. |
| Multiple procedures | 6 | Diagnostic cardiovascular reduction applies to the technical component. |
| Bilateral (modifier 50) | 0 | The 150% bilateral adjustment doesn’t apply. |
| Assistant at surgery (80/81/82/AS) | 0 | Not paid without supporting documentation. |
| Co-surgeons (62) | 0 | Not permitted. |
| Team surgery (66) | 0 | Not permitted. |
| Professional/technical | 4 | Global test only. |
93015 compared with similar codes
Compare codes · National
5 codes, side by side
How to choose
- 93016Stress test supervision
- Use 93016 for supervision alone when the complete service is split. Use 93015 when one billing entity furnishes supervision, tracing, and interpretation with a report.
- 93018Stress test interpretation
- 93018 covers interpretation and reporting of the stress test alone, such as a clinician reading a hospital test. 93015 covers the complete service furnished by one billing entity.
- 93351Stress echocardiogram
- 93351 includes stress echocardiography and the associated stress-test supervision, ECG monitoring, and interpretation; do not add 93015 for that work. Use 93015 for a complete stress test without bundled echocardiographic imaging, including one performed with separately reported nuclear imaging.
- 93000Electrocardiogram (ECG)
- 93000 is a resting 12-lead ECG with interpretation. Baseline and monitoring ECG recordings performed as part of the stress test are included in 93015.
93015 billing questions
Can modifier 26 or TC be appended to this code?
No. 93015 is a global-test-only code. CMS assigns separate codes for supervision, tracing, and interpretation with report when the work is split.
When should the component codes be used instead?
Use them when different entities furnish parts of the test. For example, a hospital outpatient department may report the tracing while a clinician reports supervision and interpretation using the applicable component codes.
Is the stress portion of a nuclear perfusion study reported with this code?
Yes, when the same billing entity furnishes the complete stress test. Myocardial perfusion imaging is reported separately; use stress-test component codes instead if the stress-test work is split.
Can a resting 12-lead ECG be billed separately on the same day?
Baseline and monitoring ECG recordings that are part of the stress test are included. A distinct, medically necessary resting 12-lead ECG may be reported separately when its separate indication and interpretation are documented.
Is the pharmacologic stress agent included?
The stress-test code describes the testing service, not the drug supply. When separately reportable, the entity supplying an agent such as regadenoson uses its applicable HCPCS code and units based on the administered dose.
How does the multiple procedure reduction affect this code?
When the same patient receives multiple eligible cardiovascular diagnostic services on the same date from the same physician or group, CMS applies the reduction to the technical component of the lower-ranked service or services. The professional component is not reduced under this rule.
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
Show the CMS file lines behind this rate
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