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A9521 Tc99m exametazime

What A9521 is

Technetium tc-99m exametazime, diagnostic, per study dose, up to 25 millicuries

HCPCS Level II long description, CMS October 2026 file. See the A codes page for the full section.

Medicare payment for A9521 (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 A9521 at 2 units 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: Code Descriptor / CPT Instruction. Units above the cap are denied unless the edit's adjudication rules allow an appeal with documentation.

Billed with A9521? These codes are bundled into it

A9521 is a Column 1 code in 1 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
A9512Tc99m pertechnetate0 - no modifier bypassCheck pair

A9521 is bundled into these codes

A9521 appears as a Column 2 code in 24 active edits. Reported with one of these Column 1 codes on the same date of service, A9521 is the code that denies.

Column 1 codeShort descriptionModifier indicator
78018Thyroid met imaging body0Check pair
78070Parathyroid planar imaging0Check pair
78102Bone marrow imaging ltd0Check pair
78103Bone marrow imaging mult0Check pair
78122Whl bld volume determination0Check pair
78140Red cell sequestration0Check pair
78215Lvr&spleen img static only0Check pair
78226Hepatobiliary system imaging0Check pair
78227Hepatobil syst image w/drug0Check pair
78300Bone imaging limited area1Check pair
78305Bone imaging multiple areas0Check pair
78315Bone imaging 3 phase0Check pair
78451Ht muscle image spect sing0Check pair
78452Ht muscle image spect mult0Check pair
78472Gated heart planar single0Check 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.