CMS October 2026Physician Fee Schedule · Free lookup

CPT 72131 Medicare Fee Schedule 2026

Medicare's 2026 national payment for CPT 72131 is $129.93 in a non-facility setting ($129.93 in a facility), up 186.9% from $45.29 in 2025.

National rate, October 2026

Non-facility: $129.93
Facility: $129.93
vs. 2025: +186.9%
Commercial national avg.: $227.58

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HCPCS Codes

72131

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Year

20262025

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Physician Fee Schedule·72131·National·2026, 2025

Current non-facility rate

$129.93▼44.4%

Facility: $129.93

Recent trend

Code description

Ct Scan Of Lower Spine, Ct (Computed Tomography) Of Spine (Low Back). The Scanner Circles The Body Taking X-Rays And Assembles Them Into A 3-D Image. Dye May Be Injected To Make The Area Easier To See.

Code	Date	State	Non-Facility Fee	Facility Fee	Description
72131	10/2026	N/A	$129.93	$129.93	Ct Scan Of Lower Spine, Ct (Computed Tomography) Of Spine (Low Back). The Scanner Circles The Body Taking X-Rays And Assembles Them Into A 3-D Image. Dye May Be Injected To Make The Area Easier To See.
72131	10/2026	N/A	$83.50	$83.50	Ct Scan Of Lower Spine, Ct (Computed Tomography) Of Spine (Low Back). The Scanner Circles The Body Taking X-Rays And Assembles Them Into A 3-D Image. Dye May Be Injected To Make The Area Easier To See.
72131	10/2026	N/A	$46.43	$46.43	Ct Scan Of Lower Spine, Ct (Computed Tomography) Of Spine (Low Back). The Scanner Circles The Body Taking X-Rays And Assembles Them Into A 3-D Image. Dye May Be Injected To Make The Area Easier To See.
72131	7/2026	N/A	$46.43	$46.43	Ct Scan Of Lower Spine, Ct (Computed Tomography) Of Spine (Low Back). The Scanner Circles The Body Taking X-Rays And Assembles Them Into A 3-D Image. Dye May Be Injected To Make The Area Easier To See.
72131	7/2026	N/A	$129.93	$129.93	Ct Scan Of Lower Spine, Ct (Computed Tomography) Of Spine (Low Back). The Scanner Circles The Body Taking X-Rays And Assembles Them Into A 3-D Image. Dye May Be Injected To Make The Area Easier To See.
72131	7/2026	N/A	$83.50	$83.50	Ct Scan Of Lower Spine, Ct (Computed Tomography) Of Spine (Low Back). The Scanner Circles The Body Taking X-Rays And Assembles Them Into A 3-D Image. Dye May Be Injected To Make The Area Easier To See.
72131	4/2026	N/A	$83.50	$83.50	Ct Scan Of Lower Spine, Ct (Computed Tomography) Of Spine (Low Back). The Scanner Circles The Body Taking X-Rays And Assembles Them Into A 3-D Image. Dye May Be Injected To Make The Area Easier To See.
72131	4/2026	N/A	$129.93	$129.93	Ct Scan Of Lower Spine, Ct (Computed Tomography) Of Spine (Low Back). The Scanner Circles The Body Taking X-Rays And Assembles Them Into A 3-D Image. Dye May Be Injected To Make The Area Easier To See.
72131	4/2026	N/A	$46.43	$46.43	Ct Scan Of Lower Spine, Ct (Computed Tomography) Of Spine (Low Back). The Scanner Circles The Body Taking X-Rays And Assembles Them Into A 3-D Image. Dye May Be Injected To Make The Area Easier To See.
72131	1/2026	N/A	$46.43	$46.43	Ct Scan Of Lower Spine, Ct (Computed Tomography) Of Spine (Low Back). The Scanner Circles The Body Taking X-Rays And Assembles Them Into A 3-D Image. Dye May Be Injected To Make The Area Easier To See.
72131	1/2026	N/A	$83.50	$83.50	Ct Scan Of Lower Spine, Ct (Computed Tomography) Of Spine (Low Back). The Scanner Circles The Body Taking X-Rays And Assembles Them Into A 3-D Image. Dye May Be Injected To Make The Area Easier To See.
72131	1/2026	N/A	$129.93	$129.93	Ct Scan Of Lower Spine, Ct (Computed Tomography) Of Spine (Low Back). The Scanner Circles The Body Taking X-Rays And Assembles Them Into A 3-D Image. Dye May Be Injected To Make The Area Easier To See.
72131	10/2025	N/A	$45.29	$45.29	Ct Scan Of Lower Spine, Ct (Computed Tomography) Of Spine (Low Back). The Scanner Circles The Body Taking X-Rays And Assembles Them Into A 3-D Image. Dye May Be Injected To Make The Area Easier To See.
72131	10/2025	N/A	$127.45	$127.45	Ct Scan Of Lower Spine, Ct (Computed Tomography) Of Spine (Low Back). The Scanner Circles The Body Taking X-Rays And Assembles Them Into A 3-D Image. Dye May Be Injected To Make The Area Easier To See.
72131	10/2025	N/A	$82.16	$82.16	Ct Scan Of Lower Spine, Ct (Computed Tomography) Of Spine (Low Back). The Scanner Circles The Body Taking X-Rays And Assembles Them Into A 3-D Image. Dye May Be Injected To Make The Area Easier To See.
72131	7/2025	N/A	$45.29	$45.29	Ct Scan Of Lower Spine, Ct (Computed Tomography) Of Spine (Low Back). The Scanner Circles The Body Taking X-Rays And Assembles Them Into A 3-D Image. Dye May Be Injected To Make The Area Easier To See.
72131	7/2025	N/A	$127.45	$127.45	Ct Scan Of Lower Spine, Ct (Computed Tomography) Of Spine (Low Back). The Scanner Circles The Body Taking X-Rays And Assembles Them Into A 3-D Image. Dye May Be Injected To Make The Area Easier To See.
72131	7/2025	N/A	$82.16	$82.16	Ct Scan Of Lower Spine, Ct (Computed Tomography) Of Spine (Low Back). The Scanner Circles The Body Taking X-Rays And Assembles Them Into A 3-D Image. Dye May Be Injected To Make The Area Easier To See.
72131	4/2025	N/A	$127.45	$127.45	Ct Scan Of Lower Spine, Ct (Computed Tomography) Of Spine (Low Back). The Scanner Circles The Body Taking X-Rays And Assembles Them Into A 3-D Image. Dye May Be Injected To Make The Area Easier To See.
72131	4/2025	N/A	$82.16	$82.16	Ct Scan Of Lower Spine, Ct (Computed Tomography) Of Spine (Low Back). The Scanner Circles The Body Taking X-Rays And Assembles Them Into A 3-D Image. Dye May Be Injected To Make The Area Easier To See.
72131	4/2025	N/A	$45.29	$45.29	Ct Scan Of Lower Spine, Ct (Computed Tomography) Of Spine (Low Back). The Scanner Circles The Body Taking X-Rays And Assembles Them Into A 3-D Image. Dye May Be Injected To Make The Area Easier To See.
72131	1/2025	N/A	$45.29	$45.29	Ct Scan Of Lower Spine, Ct (Computed Tomography) Of Spine (Low Back). The Scanner Circles The Body Taking X-Rays And Assembles Them Into A 3-D Image. Dye May Be Injected To Make The Area Easier To See.
72131	1/2025	N/A	$82.16	$82.16	Ct Scan Of Lower Spine, Ct (Computed Tomography) Of Spine (Low Back). The Scanner Circles The Body Taking X-Rays And Assembles Them Into A 3-D Image. Dye May Be Injected To Make The Area Easier To See.
72131	1/2025	N/A	$127.45	$127.45	Ct Scan Of Lower Spine, Ct (Computed Tomography) Of Spine (Low Back). The Scanner Circles The Body Taking X-Rays And Assembles Them Into A 3-D Image. Dye May Be Injected To Make The Area Easier To See.

72131 national rate by year

Each row is the latest CMS file published that year. Change is against the year before.

CMS file	Non-facility	Facility	Change
October 2026	$129.93	$129.93	+186.9%
October 2025	$45.29	$45.29	-2.8%
March 2024	$46.60	$46.60	-47.1%
January 2023	$88.11	$88.11	-2.1%
July 2022	$89.98	$89.98	-

This is the national amount before geographic adjustment. Medicare multiplies each relative value unit by its locality's geographic practice cost index, so a practice's own allowed amount can be higher or lower; pick a state above to see its localities. The facility amount applies when the service is performed in a hospital or other facility setting.

72131: Medicare vs. commercial national average

The commercial national average for 72131, the mean of what BCBS, UnitedHealthcare, Aetna and Cigna publish nationwide, is $227.58, 175% of Medicare's $129.93.

BCBS $171.99
UnitedHealthcare $225.76
Aetna $256.18
Cigna $256.41

A national average, not a local rate: each payer's figure averages the unmodified, in-network professional rates it publishes for 72131 across the country in its transparency files. Contracted rates vary widely by market, provider and plan. Medicare's figure is its national non-facility amount before geographic adjustment.

See commercial rates in your market Commercial rates for 72131

Nearby codes

72110 Medicare rate 72125 Medicare rate 72128 Medicare rate 72141 Medicare rate 72146 Medicare rate 72148 Medicare rate

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Medicaid comparison

See what state Medicaid programs pay for 72131

50 state Medicaid agencies publish their own physician fee schedule. The 72131 page shows real published rates for several of them free, with effective dates and official sources.

17,674 codes and 974,327 published rates, taken from the files the state agencies publish themselves.

See Medicaid rates for 72131

$56.11

72133Ct Scan Of The Back, A Ct (Computed Tomography) Scan Of The Upper Middle Or Lower Back. The Scanner Circles The Body Taking X-Rays And Assembles Them Into A 3-D Image. After One Set Of Images A Second Set Is Taken With Contrast Dye To Highlight Areas.

$196.73

72148Mri Inner Spine (Canal), An Mri (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) Of The Interior Of The Lower Spine (Spinal Canal). A Contrast Agent May Be Given To Enhance The Images.

$68.47

Methodology

Rates are sourced directly from CMS Physician Fee Schedule files, indexed quarterly. Non-facility and facility prices are calculated using the published GPCI for each locality and the year's conversion factor.

View CMS Physician Fee Schedule