CPT code 76942: Ultrasound needle guidance2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Ohio
Real-time ultrasound guidance for biopsy, aspiration, injection, or localization needle placement, reported when imaging guidance is separately billable from the primary procedure.
Medicare pays $60.57 for 76942 in the office in Ohio (Ohio). 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 76942 covers
This service covers the imaging portion of a needle procedure: the operator uses ultrasound to locate the target, plan a path, and watch the needle reach its destination. Typical pairings include percutaneous liver and kidney biopsies, needle biopsies of superficial lymph nodes or soft tissue masses, cyst aspirations, and placement of localization devices. Radiologists, interventional specialists, nephrologists, and surgeons perform it in hospital outpatient departments, imaging centers, ASCs, and offices.
Report 76942 with a separate procedure code when ultrasound guidance is not included or bundled with that procedure. Image-guided fine needle aspiration, image-guided breast biopsy, paracentesis, thoracentesis, and ultrasound-guided joint procedure codes already account for guidance. Documentation should identify the target, describe ultrasound visualization of needle placement, and include a retained image and report. CMS prices professional and technical components separately: modifier 26 identifies the documented professional guidance service, modifier TC identifies equipment and staff, and billing without either modifier represents the complete service.
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.
76942 in Ohio
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Ohio | $60.57 | Unavailable |
How the 76942 rate is calculated
Each of 76942’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 · 76942
RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor
Work0.65
0.65 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Practice expense1.23
1.23 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Malpractice0.04
0.04 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Adjusted RVUs
1.9200
Conversion factor
$33.4009
Medicare rate
$64.13
Every GPCI starts at 1.000, the national rate. Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.
Payment rules and modifiers for 76942
The CMS indicators that decide how 76942 is paid alongside other services.
CMS payment indicators · 76942
Ultrasound needle guidance
| Rule | CMS value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Global period | XXX | The global surgery concept doesn’t apply. |
| Multiple procedures | 0 | No multiple-procedure reduction. |
| 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 | 1 | Diagnostic test with separate professional (26) and technical (TC) components. |
What modifiers do to the payment
Modifier 26 · payment effect
With and without the modifier
76942 without 26 · national office
$64.13
Ultrasound needle guidance
76942-26 · Professional component
$31.40
Pays only the interpretation and report.
76942 compared with similar codes
Compare codes · National
5 codes, side by side
How to choose
- 76937Vascular access guidance
- 76937 covers qualifying ultrasound guidance for vascular access, including vessel patency evaluation and visualization of needle entry. Use 76942 for guidance into a nonvascular target, such as an organ, mass, or fluid collection.
- 76940Us guide tissue ablation
- 76940 describes ultrasound guidance and monitoring for tissue ablation. Use 76942 for guidance of needle placement for a biopsy, aspiration, injection, or localization device rather than ablation.
- 76998Us guide intraop
- 76998 describes ultrasound guidance during an operation. Code 76942 describes ultrasound guidance for needle placement, such as a percutaneous biopsy or aspiration.
- 77012CT guidance
- Both guide needle placement, but 77012 uses CT and 76942 uses ultrasound. Choose the code for the modality documented as guiding the needle.
76942 billing questions
Can 76942 be reported with ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration codes?
No. An ultrasound-guided FNA code such as 10005 includes the guidance. Report 76942 only when guidance is separately billable from the primary needle procedure.
Which modifier applies when a physician performs the biopsy in a hospital outpatient department?
Append modifier 26 only if the physician also performs and documents the professional ultrasound guidance service. The hospital provides the technical portion through its equipment and staff.
What documentation supports 76942?
The record should describe the target and ultrasound-visualized needle placement, with a retained image and report. Ultrasound used only to mark a site before needle placement does not establish real-time guidance.
Can 76942 be billed with an arthrocentesis or joint injection?
When ultrasound guides the joint procedure, report the appropriate ultrasound-guided joint code, such as 20604, 20606, or 20611, rather than pairing a nonguided joint code with 76942.
Is 76942 appropriate for ultrasound-guided vascular access or tissue ablation?
Use 76937 for qualifying ultrasound-guided vascular access and 76940 for ultrasound guidance of tissue ablation. Code 76942 describes guidance for needle placement into a target for procedures such as biopsy or aspiration.
Do repeat needle passes into the same target create additional 76942 units?
No. Repeat passes during the same guided needle procedure do not each create a separate guidance service.
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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