The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has assigned a new level III current procedural terminology (CPT) code for automated quantification and characterization of coronary atherosclerotic plaque with coronary CT angiography (CCTA).
Payment for the new level III code became effective October 1. The new code is the first to provide reimbursement for computerized coronary plaque quantification and characterization using CCTA, noted RSNA in a news release.
The new code was announced in CMS's October 2022 update of the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System. In the update, CMS assigned a payment rate of $900-$1000 for the procedures, which assess the severity of coronary disease.
RSNA applauded the release of the new CPT code and said the move aligns with the mission and goals of its Quantitative Imaging Biomarkers Alliance, an initiative it launched in 2007 to advance quantitative imaging in clinical trials and practice.
