70555 Fmri brain by phys/psych
What 70555 is
CMS fee schedule short descriptor: Fmri brain by phys/psych.
Full CPT long descriptions are licensed by the American Medical Association and are not published on this site; the short descriptor above is the one CMS prints in its own fee schedule file. See About CPT.
Medicare payment for 70555 (CY2026)
This code has no Physician Fee Schedule rate: Carrier-priced - the Medicare contractor sets the price. It may be paid under a different fee schedule (clinical laboratory, DMEPOS, anesthesia) or not paid at all - check the relevant CMS schedule.
Medically Unlikely Edit (MUE)
Medicare caps 70555 at 1 unit per date of service for practitioner claims (MAI 3 - date of service edit (clinical): units above the MUE may pay with documentation on appeal), rationale: Nature of Service/Procedure. Units above the cap are denied unless the edit's adjudication rules allow an appeal with documentation.
Billed with 70555? These codes are bundled into it
70555 is a Column 1 code in 15 active NCCI PTP edits. When one of these Column 2 codes is reported on the same date of service, it is denied as bundled - unless the edit's modifier indicator is 1 and documentation supports a distinct service with an NCCI-associated modifier.
| Column 2 code | Short description | Modifier indicator | |
|---|---|---|---|
01922 | Anes n-invas img/radj ther | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
0889T | Prsnlz trgt dvl arhfcmrigtbs | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
36591 | Draw blood off venous device | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
36592 | Collect blood from picc | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
70554 | Fmri brain by tech | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
70557 | Mri brain w/o dye | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
70558 | Mri brain w/dye | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
70559 | Mri brain w/o & w/dye | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
96523 | Irrig drug delivery device | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
99446 | Ntrprof ph1/ntrnet/ehr 5-10 | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
99447 | Ntrprof ph1/ntrnet/ehr 11-20 | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
99448 | Ntrprof ph1/ntrnet/ehr 21-30 | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
99449 | Ntrprof ph1/ntrnet/ehr 31/> | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
99451 | Ntrprof ph1/ntrnet/ehr 5/> | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
99452 | Ntrprof ph1/ntrnet/ehr rfrl | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
70555 is bundled into these codes
70555 appears as a Column 2 code in 3 active edits. Reported with one of these Column 1 codes on the same date of service, 70555 is the code that denies.
| Column 1 code | Short description | Modifier indicator | |
|---|---|---|---|
70551 | Mri brain stem w/o dye | 1 | Check pair |
70552 | Mri brain stem w/dye | 1 | Check pair |
70553 | Mri brain stem w/o & w/dye | 1 | Check pair |
Data: CMS CY2026 Physician Fee Schedule RVU file (October release, RVU26D) and Medicare NCCI PTP practitioner edits v32.3 (2026 Q4). Verify against the official files before billing or contracting decisions.