US · guidance
CMS Pub. 100-04, ch. 4, § 250.8.1
Coding for Low Osmolar Contrast Material (LOCM)
Method II CAHs bill the outpatient physician involvement (professional component) for
the administration of Low Osmolar Contrast Material (LOCM) with revenue code 96X,
97X or 98X on type of bill (TOB) 85X. Bills must include an appropriate outpatient
hospital visit CPT code for evaluation and management (E & M).
The technical component for LOCM may be billed by both Method I and Method II
CAHs with revenue code 636 and one of the following HCPCS codes as appropriate:
HCPCS
Code
Descriptor
Q9945 Low osmolar contrast material (up to 149 mg/ml iodine concentration, per
ml)
Q9946 Low osmolar contrast material (150 - 199 mg/ml iodine concentration, per
ml)
Q9947 Low osmolar contrast material (200 - 249 mg/ml iodine concentration, per
ml)
Q9948 Low osmolar contrast material (250 - 299 mg/ml iodine concentration, per
ml)
Q9949 Low osmolar contrast material (300 - 349 mg/ml iodine concentration, per
ml)
Q9950 Low osmolar contrast material (350 - 399 mg/ml iodine concentration, per
ml)
Q9951 Low osmolar contrast material (400 or greater mg/ml iodine concentration,
per ml)
History
(Rev. 803, Issued: 01-03-06, Effective: 04-03-06, Implementation: 04-03-06)
Provenance
- Source
- cms.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-08-25
- Edition
- iom-2026-08-25
- Content hash
a19c78ba132ea3c7553fc602a9972b712cb8ee61eb9518bfa8a9a1727bee0303
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