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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.

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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 codeShort descriptionModifier indicator
01922Anes n-invas img/radj ther0 - no modifier bypassCheck pair
0889TPrsnlz trgt dvl arhfcmrigtbs0 - no modifier bypassCheck pair
36591Draw blood off venous device0 - no modifier bypassCheck pair
36592Collect blood from picc0 - no modifier bypassCheck pair
70554Fmri brain by tech1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
70557Mri brain w/o dye1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
70558Mri brain w/dye1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
70559Mri brain w/o & w/dye1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
96523Irrig drug delivery device0 - no modifier bypassCheck pair
99446Ntrprof ph1/ntrnet/ehr 5-100 - no modifier bypassCheck pair
99447Ntrprof ph1/ntrnet/ehr 11-200 - no modifier bypassCheck pair
99448Ntrprof ph1/ntrnet/ehr 21-300 - no modifier bypassCheck pair
99449Ntrprof ph1/ntrnet/ehr 31/>0 - no modifier bypassCheck pair
99451Ntrprof ph1/ntrnet/ehr 5/>0 - no modifier bypassCheck pair
99452Ntrprof ph1/ntrnet/ehr rfrl0 - no modifier bypassCheck 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 codeShort descriptionModifier indicator
70551Mri brain stem w/o dye1Check pair
70552Mri brain stem w/dye1Check pair
70553Mri brain stem w/o & w/dye1Check 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.