76642 Ultrasound breast limited
What 76642 is
CMS fee schedule short descriptor: Ultrasound breast limited.
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 76642 (CY2026)
| Work RVU | Practice expense RVU | Malpractice RVU | Total | Medicare rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-facility (office) | 0.66 | 1.79 | 0.05 | 2.50 | $83.50 |
| Facility (hospital, ASC) | 0.66 | 1.79 | 0.05 | 2.50 | $83.50 |
National rates: total RVUs x the CY2026 conversion factor of 33.4009 (non-QP), before geographic adjustment. Actual Medicare payment is 80% of the rate shown after the deductible; the patient or secondary payer owes the 20% coinsurance.
Status: Active - payable under the Physician Fee Schedule. Global period: Global concept does not apply.
Medically Unlikely Edit (MUE)
Medicare caps 76642 at 1 unit per date of service for practitioner claims (MAI 2 - date of service edit (absolute): units above the MUE never pay), rationale: CMS Policy. Units above the cap are denied unless the edit's adjudication rules allow an appeal with documentation.
Billed with 76642? These codes are bundled into it
76642 is a Column 1 code in 11 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
0581T | Abltj mal brst tum perq crtx | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
0600T | Ablt ire 1+ o/t lv/prst8 prq | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
0601T | Abltj ire 1+tumors open | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
0689T | Quan us tis charac w/o dx us | 1 - modifier may 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 |
76882 | Us lmtd jt/fcl evl nvasc xtr | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
76942 | Echo guide for biopsy | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
76983 | Use ea addl target lesion | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
76998 | Us guide intraop | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
96523 | Irrig drug delivery device | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
76642 is bundled into these codes
76642 appears as a Column 2 code in 13 active edits. Reported with one of these Column 1 codes on the same date of service, 76642 is the code that denies.
| Column 1 code | Short description | Modifier indicator | |
|---|---|---|---|
0351T | Intraop oct brst/node spec | 1 | Check pair |
0353T | Intraop oct breast cavity | 1 | Check pair |
0422T | Tactile breast img uni/bi | 1 | Check pair |
76641 | Ultrasound breast complete | 1 | Check pair |
76978 | Us trgt dyn mbubb 1st les | 1 | Check pair |
76979 | Us trgt dyn mbubb ea addl | 1 | Check pair |
76981 | Use parenchyma | 1 | Check pair |
76982 | Use 1st target lesion | 1 | Check pair |
77767 | Hdr rdncl skn surf brachytx | 1 | Check pair |
77768 | Hdr rdncl skn surf brachytx | 1 | Check pair |
77770 | Hdr rdncl ntrstl/icav brchtx | 1 | Check pair |
77771 | Hdr rdncl ntrstl/icav brchtx | 1 | Check pair |
77772 | Hdr rdncl ntrstl/icav brchtx | 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.