CPT Code 73130: 2026 Hand X-Ray Billing, Modifiers, and Rates

CPT code 73130 reports a radiologic examination of the hand with at least three views. The standard series is posteroanterior (PA), oblique, and lateral. Code from the views in the signed radiology report, not the views on the order. Two views bill 73120.

Billers and practice managers can use this page as a desk reference. You’ll find 2026 CMS rates, modifier rules for the hand X-ray CPT code, bilateral and finger studies, and hospital claims. ICD-10 pairing and the denials our team sees most on hand X-ray remits come last.

Table of Contents

1. CPT Code 73130 at a Glance: 2026 CMS Data
2. What Does CPT Code 73130 Cover?
3. Hand X-Ray CPT Codes Compared: 73130 vs 73120, 73140, and 73110
4. Does CPT 73130 Need a Modifier?
5. Bilateral Hand X-Rays: Modifier 50 or RT and LT?
6. Can CPT 73130 and 73140 Be Billed Together?
7. CPT Code 73130 Reimbursement in 2026
8. Billing 73130 in a Hospital Outpatient Department
9. ICD-10 Codes for CPT Code 73130
10. Documentation, Same-Day E/M Visits, and Prior Authorization
11. CPT 73130 Denial Codes and How to Fix Them
12. Five 73130 Claim Examples
13. How ClaimMax RCM Keeps Hand X-Ray Claims Paid
14. Hand X-Ray Billing FAQs
15. Sources

CPT Code 73130 at a Glance: 2026 CMS Data

The CPT code 73130 description reads “Radiologic examination, hand; minimum of 3 views,” and CMS lists the code as active for 2026 with a $38.08 national global rate. Values below come from the October 2026 RVU file (RVU26D), the July 2026 OPPS Addendum B, and the October 1, 2026 NCCI tables.

Table 1. 73130 CPT code description and 2026 CMS indicators

These are national amounts before locality adjustment. Your MAC multiplies each RVU component by its locality GPCI, so your allowed amount for 73130 will land above or below $38.08.

Source: CMS PFS relative value files (RVU26D) and CY 2026 conversion factors; national, before locality adjustment.

What Does CPT Code 73130 Cover?

CPT code 73130 covers a radiographic study of one hand, including the carpal bones, metacarpals, and phalanges, imaged in three or more projections and read in a written report. It’s a Category I CPT code. Its TC, RT, and LT modifiers come from HCPCS Level II, the other half of the CPT vs HCPCS codes split.

The Three Views Behind 73130

The standard 73130 series is PA, oblique, and lateral, and any three or more documented projections qualify. A fourth or fifth view doesn’t add a unit, so four views still bill one unit of 73130 at the same rate.

Code from the signed report, since the order and the technologist’s worksheet don’t count. If the technologist took three views but the report describes two, the claim goes out as 73120 until the radiologist amends the report. Ask radiologists to state the count and side, as in “three views of the left hand.”

Does CPT 73130 Include the Fingers?

Yes. A three-view 73130 series images all five digits, so a separate finger study of the same hand in the same session doesn’t pay on its own.

A dedicated finger series reports CPT code 73140 (radiologic examination, finger(s), minimum of 2 views). It pays beside 73130 only when it’s on the other hand, and NCCI enforces that split with a PTP edit.

How to Code a Thumb X-Ray

CPT has no thumb-specific X-ray code. A thumb series aimed at the phalanges and the interphalangeal (IP) joint reports the 73140 CPT code, since CPT counts the thumb as a digit. Some payers also want digit modifier FA (left thumb) or F5 (right thumb).

Check the anatomy before you pick the code. If the order and report center on the first metacarpal or the carpometacarpal (CMC) joint, you’re imaging the hand, so 73120 or 73130 applies by view count. Don’t bill a thumb series and a hand series on the same side in one session.

Who Bills 73130

You’ll see 73130 on claims from these seven settings:

• Urgent care centers billing the global service at POS 20
• Orthopedic and hand surgery practices
• Family and internal medicine offices with an in-house X-ray unit
• Rheumatology practices monitoring inflammatory arthritis
• Radiology groups reading hospital films with modifier 26
• Independent diagnostic testing facilities billing TC or global
• Hospital outpatient departments billing on the UB-04 under OPPS

These settings don’t use the same modifier, claim form, or payment path. ClaimMax staffs medical billing by specialty for that reason, so an urgent care claim and a radiology read never run through one default setup.

Hand X-Ray CPT Codes Compared: 73130 vs 73120, 73140, and 73110

The CPT code for an X-ray of the hand depends on two things: the anatomy in the report and the number of views it documents. CPT hand X-ray coding errors start when someone codes from the order instead. Pull the signed report first.

Table 2. Hand and wrist X-ray codes compared

Under the 73140 CPT code description, “finger(s), minimum of 2 views,” the code covers digit studies only, so CPT 73140 can’t stand in for a hand series.

Fewer Than Three Views: 73120, Not 73130-52

The 73130 CPT code needs three documented views. Two views bill 73120, not 73130-52, because 73120 already describes a two-view study. Modifier 52 on 73130 misreports the service.

One view bills 73120 with modifier 52, since CPT has no single-view hand code. Undercoding costs money too, because 73120 pays $31.40 at the 2026 national rate (0.94 RVUs), $6.68 less than 73130.

Hand, Wrist, or Both

A complete wrist series of at least three views bills the 73110 CPT code, and two wrist views bill 73100. If the provider orders the hand and wrist as two studies and the radiologist reports each one, bill both codes with the same laterality modifier.

Medicare’s October 1, 2026 practitioner PTP file (v323r0) carries no edit between 73110 and 73130 in either direction. Commercial scrubbers can still flag the pair, so keep both orders and both reports in the chart.

When a Plain Film Isn’t Enough

If films come back negative but snuffbox tenderness persists, the provider may order an MRI to rule out an occult scaphoid fracture. A wrist MRI without contrast bills as a joint study (73221), while non-joint hand anatomy uses 73218. Our guide to upper extremity MRI codes lists the contrast versions of both.

Does CPT 73130 Need a Modifier?

Modifier use on 73130 depends on who owns the equipment, who reads the films, and which hand you imaged. CPT code 73130 needs no modifier when one practice takes and reads the films. Every other 73130 CPT code modifier question comes down to four things: split service, laterality, film or CR equipment, and repeats.

When You Don’t Need a Modifier

You can send 73130 with no modifier when four facts line up:

• Your practice owns the X-ray unit.
• Your physician reads and signs the report.
• The visit takes place at a non-facility POS, such as 11 (office) or 20 (urgent care).
• You image one hand, and the payer doesn’t ask for RT or LT.

Adding 26 to a global claim leaves the $29.39 technical payment unbilled. Nothing on the remit flags the mistake, because the 26 line still pays $8.68.

Modifier 26 and TC: Who Bills Which Component

Split 73130 by who owns the unit and who reads the film:

Table 3. Who bills each 73130 component

Chapter 13 of Medicare’s Claims Processing Manual says the interpretation of a diagnostic procedure includes a written report, so a 26 claim needs a signed report on file. Hospitals don’t append TC on the UB-04, because OPPS pays the technical service under the HCPCS code alone.

RT and LT: Laterality

RT and LT are HCPCS Level II anatomic modifiers, and they don’t change the 73130 payment. Many MACs and commercial payers expect them on extremity imaging, and they keep a same-day second hand from denying as a duplicate. Check each payer’s policy instead of assuming a rule.

Match the side on the modifier to the side in the ICD-10 code, such as M79.641 (pain in right hand) with RT.

FX and FY: Film and Computed Radiography

FX flags an X-ray taken on film. Medicare cuts the technical component, and the technical portion of a global claim, by 20%, a rule in place since 2017 under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016.

FY flags computed radiography, the cassette-based imaging-plate systems. The FY cut is 10% for 2023 and later, up from 7% for 2018 to 2022. Direct digital radiography takes neither modifier, and the professional component keeps its full $8.68.

Other Modifiers You’ll See With 73130

Five more modifiers show up on 73130 claims:

• 50: a bilateral format some payers accept in place of RT and LT lines
• 52: a reduced-service modifier for a single-view 73120, never for a two-view 73130
• 76 or 77: a same-day repeat study, such as post-reduction films, by the same (76) or a different (77) physician
• 59 or XS: a bypass for the opposite-hand finger code, used only if an edit still fires after RT and LT, per the modifier 59 rules
• 25: an E/M modifier that Medicare doesn’t require because of a same-day X-ray, though some commercial edits do

The modifier denials we fix on hand X-rays trace back to one setup problem more than any other: a single default modifier applied across every place of service. Our medical billing services team maps each modifier to the billing entity and POS before we submit the claim.

Bilateral Hand X-Rays: Modifier 50 or RT and LT?

CPT code 73130 carries bilateral indicator 3, so Medicare pays each hand at 100% of the fee schedule, with no bilateral payment reduction. Both hands on one date pay $76.16 at the 2026 national rate (2 × $38.08).

What Bilateral Indicator 3 Means

CMS assigns bilateral indicator 3 to radiology procedures and other diagnostic tests that aren’t subject to the bilateral surgery payment rule. Medicare pays each side at the lower of the actual charge or 100% of the fee schedule amount. Indicator 1, the 150% rule for bilateral surgery, doesn’t apply to 73130.

Joint MRI codes such as 73721 carry the same indicator, and our bilateral MRI billing rules walk through that code’s RT and LT setup.

Two Lines or One: Claim Format by Payer

Medicare claim format comes from your MAC. Many MACs ask for 73130-RT and 73130-LT on separate lines with one unit each. Others take 73130-50 on one line with one unit and the charge for both hands.

Before you append CPT 73130 modifier 50, check which format your MAC publishes. Don’t send 73130 with two units on one line and no modifier, since the payer can read it as a duplicate or an MUE problem.

Commercial payers vary more, and many accept 50. If a payer applies a 150% bilateral surgery rule to 73130, compare the remit to your contract and appeal with the CMS indicator.

One hand with three views and the other with two bills 73130-RT and 73120-LT. In the October 1, 2026 PTP file, 73120 sits in column two under 73130 with modifier indicator 1, and RT and LT count as bypass modifiers for that edit.

Units and the MUE

The practitioner MUE for 73130, effective October 1, 2026, is three units with MUE adjudication indicator (MAI) 3, a clinical date-of-service edit. MAI 3 counts all 73130 lines on the same date together, so the RT line, the LT line, and any repeat film share one limit.

A fourth unit on the same date denies. If the records support the extra films, you can appeal an MAI 3 denial, which a policy-based MAI 2 edit doesn’t allow. CMS posts the current values in the Medicare NCCI MUE tables.

Can CPT 73130 and 73140 Be Billed Together?

Only when they’re on different hands. CPT code 73130 already images the fingers, so NCCI bundles a same-hand finger series from the same session into the hand study. A hand series on one side and a finger series on the other both pay when you add RT and LT.

Same Hand, Same Session: Bundled

CPT 73140 is the column-two code when it pairs with 73130. Medicare’s October 1, 2026 practitioner PTP file (v323r0) lists 73130 in column one and 73140 in column two. The edit carries the rationale “more extensive procedure” and has been in place since October 1, 2003.

Bill 73130 alone. Putting XS or 59 on a same-hand finger study to force payment misstates the service, and auditors look for that pattern.

Different Hands: Bill Both

A finger series, CPT code 73140, on the opposite hand is a different anatomic site. Report 73130-RT and 73140-LT, and add a digit modifier (FA to F9) if the payer asks for one.

The pair carries modifier indicator 1, so an NCCI-associated modifier can bypass the edit when the documentation shows distinct sites. RT, LT, and the digit modifiers all qualify, as our guide to PTP modifier indicators explains. Each side needs its own supporting ICD-10 code.

On a different-hands claim, 73140 adds $39.41 at the 2026 national rate (1.18 RVUs), which is $1.33 more than 73130 itself.

Table 4. When 73130 and 73140 pay together

Check the Edit Before You Override It

CMS updates the PTP files each quarter, and the Q4 2026 files took effect October 1, 2026. Read the modifier indicator first: 0 means no modifier bypasses the edit, 1 allows a modifier when the services are distinct, and 9 means the edit no longer applies. Pull the pair from the current CMS NCCI procedure-to-procedure edits before you append anything.

If CO-97 or CO-236 keeps landing on hand-and-finger claims, another appeal won’t fix it. Our team runs a denial root-cause analysis that finds the missing scrubber rule, and then we build that rule into your claim edits.

CPT Code 73130 Reimbursement in 2026

CPT code 73130 pays $38.08 at the 2026 national rate for the global service, $8.68 for the read (26), and $29.39 for the technical component (TC). Any 73130 CPT code reimbursement question starts with the conversion factor, because 2026 has two.

National Rates by Component

Table 5. 2026 national Medicare rates for 73130, before locality adjustment

The CMS 2026 PFS final rule set both conversion factors. Unless your clinicians are qualifying APM participants (QPs) for 2026, expect the non-QP column on your remits. Added together, the 26 and TC amounts come to $38.07 instead of $38.08 because each one rounds on its own.

What Changed for 73130 in 2026

Five changes affect 73130 claims in 2026:

• Two conversion factors, for the first time: $33.4009 for most clinicians and $33.5675 for QPs, up 3.26% and 3.77% from $32.3465 in 2025
• 1.14 total RVUs, up from 1.12, which lifts the global rate 5.1%, from $36.23 to $38.08
• A 2.5% efficiency adjustment to work RVUs for non-time-based services, with a 2026 work RVU of 0.17 for 73130
• New Q4 2026 PTP and MUE files, effective October 1, 2026
• The FY 2027 ICD-10-CM code set, for dates of service from October 1, 2026

Film and CR Reductions in Dollars

Table 6. 2026 national 73130 payment by equipment type

The $8.68 professional component stays the same on all three rows, because the FX and FY cuts apply to the technical side alone. A practice still running CR plates gives up $2.94 per global claim in 2026, and a film unit gives up $5.88.

What the Patient Owes

After the 2026 Part B deductible of $283 (per Medicare.gov), the patient owes 20% coinsurance, which is $7.62 on $38.08. Medicare pays $30.46, before any sequestration reduction. Non-participating providers get an allowed amount of 95%, or $36.18, and the limiting charge caps their bill at $41.60.

Why Published 73130 Rates Don’t Match

Published 73130 rates disagree online because they mix five different numbers:

• The 2025 rate of $36.23, still posted as current
• One component quoted as the full rate
• A locality-adjusted MAC amount
• The QP rate of $38.27
• A commercial contract rate

Commercial rates vary by plan and contract. Each plan posts negotiated rates in its Transparency in Coverage files, and the CMS PFS Look-Up Tool shows your locality’s Medicare figure.

Your posting team either catches FX and FY cuts, locality errors, and TC underpayments or writes them off without knowing it. With our revenue cycle management services, we compare each 73130 payment to its expected 2026 rate and work the short pays.

Billing 73130 in a Hospital Outpatient Department

In a hospital outpatient department, CPT code 73130 splits across two claims. The hospital bills the technical side on the UB-04 under OPPS, and the radiologist bills 73130-26 on the CMS-1500. Neither claim carries the global service.

The Facility Claim: APC 5521 and Status Indicator Q1

Set up the facility claim with bill type 13X, then build the line with revenue code 0320 (diagnostic radiology) and HCPCS 73130 plus RT or LT. Leave TC and 26 off the UB-04.

Status indicator Q1 means 73130 packages when the same claim carries a service with status indicator S, T, or V. Closed treatment of a metacarpal fracture (26600) carries status T, so an X-ray on that claim folds into the fracture care payment.

On any other claim, 73130 pays through APC 5521 at $88.91 in the July 2026 Addendum B, posted with the CMS OPPS quarterly addenda. In hospital outpatient billing, the two-view code pays more than the three-view code: 73120 maps to APC 5522 at $106.81. Code the views the report documents, not the ones that pay more.

A $0 line on a Q1 service is packaging, not a denial. Sorting packaged lines from true denials is a routine step in hospital revenue cycle management, and it keeps appeal staff off lines that were never due payment.

The Professional Claim: 73130-26 and Place of Service

The radiologist bills 73130-26 on the CMS-1500 with POS 22 (on-campus outpatient), POS 19 (off-campus outpatient), or POS 23 (emergency department). Our POS 22 billing rules guide covers the on-campus test that separates 22 from 19.

Chapter 13 of the Claims Processing Manual says MACs don’t pay the technical component to a physician for hospital patients, because the hospital receives it under OPPS. At the 2026 national rate, that read pays $8.68.

ICD-10 Codes for CPT Code 73130

The diagnosis on a 73130 claim has to support a hand study, name the side, and match the RT or LT modifier. Dates of service on or after October 1, 2026 use the FY 2027 ICD-10-CM set. Each code in Table 7 is valid in that set, per the CMS ICD-10-CM code files.

Table 7. Common ICD-10-CM codes paired with 73130

Match Laterality to RT and LT

A left-hand code on a 73130-RT line can deny as CO-11 or CO-4. Unspecified codes such as S62.309A (unspecified fracture of unspecified metacarpal bone) belong on records that don’t name the bone or the side. If the report names the right fifth metacarpal, S62.309A is the wrong code, so query the provider instead of defaulting.

Seventh Characters for Fracture Follow-Up

The ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines tell you to report fracture follow-up with the injury code and a 7th character, not an aftercare Z code. Character A covers the period of active treatment, and D covers routine healing after it. Hand fractures in category S62 use these seven values:

1. A: initial encounter, closed fracture
2. B: initial encounter, open fracture
3. D: subsequent encounter, routine healing
4. G: subsequent encounter, delayed healing
5. K: subsequent encounter, nonunion
6. P: subsequent encounter, malunion
7. S: sequela

A six-week follow-up film of a healing right boxer’s fracture reports S62.336D, and the same film on the left reports S62.337D.

Documentation, Same-Day E/M Visits, and Prior Authorization

A 73130 claim holds up on review when the report proves the views, the E/M stands on its own, and someone checked the payer’s imaging rules before the visit.

What the Report Must Show

Before you code 73130, confirm the chart has these five items:

• A signed order with the clinical reason
• The side imaged
• The number of views, or each view named
• Findings and an impression
• A signature and date that match the date of service

Reviewers downcode 73130 to 73120 when the report doesn’t state a view count, so ask radiologists to write the number out.

Billing 73130 With an E/M Visit

An office or urgent care E/M and 73130 both pay on the same date. Because an X-ray has no global period (XXX), Medicare doesn’t require modifier 25 on the E/M for it, though some commercial edits still ask for 25.

If the physician bills the interpretation as 73130 or 73130-26, ordering and reviewing that film don’t count toward the visit’s MDM data. Our CPT 99203 MDM rules breakdown covers the rest of the data element for new-patient visits.

Practices that take and read their own films bill a global 73130 beside the E/M. Our full-service medical billing team checks that the visit level still holds without the X-ray data before the claim goes out.

Prior Authorization and AUC

Original Medicare doesn’t require prior authorization for a hand X-ray. The AUC program covered advanced imaging only: CT, MRI, PET, and nuclear medicine. CMS paused it and rescinded its regulations effective January 1, 2024, and it never applied to plain films. Some Medicare Advantage and commercial plans set their own imaging rules, so verify benefits before the visit.

CPT 73130 Denial Codes and How to Fix Them

The CPT code 73130 denials we see most start in claim setup: a modifier, a side, or a missing field. Each row below maps to a rule your scrubber can enforce. If the same CARC keeps coming back, our denial management services team finds the missing rule and adds it.

CARC wording in the table follows the X12 claim adjustment reason codes list. CO marks a contractual obligation you can’t bill to the patient, and X12 restricts CARC 18 to group code OA, except where state workers’ compensation rules require CO.

Table 8. CPT 73130 denials: cause and fix

Many commercial payers take a corrected claim with frequency code 7, while Medicare Part B MACs handle most fixes through a reopening. If a MAC returns a claim as unprocessable, send a new claim instead of a correction. Box 17 gaps rank among the CMS-1500 form mistakes that trigger CO-16 on diagnostic claims.

Five 73130 Claim Examples

Each example shows how the 73130 CPT code goes out on a CMS-1500 line. Put payment modifiers (26, TC, FY, FX) before informational ones (RT, LT, and digit modifiers). Amounts are 2026 national, non-QP.

Table 9. 2026 claim-line examples for 73130

Box 17 carries the ordering provider’s name on diagnostic claims, with the NPI in 17b. If your scrubber checks indicator 3, the 73140 edit, and laterality, it catches these errors before submission, and it’s the first thing an outsourced medical billing team should build.

How ClaimMax RCM Keeps Hand X-Ray Claims Paid

ClaimMax RCM is a full-service RCM company headquartered in Sacramento, California, working with practices in all 50 states. Our AAPC-certified coders work inside your existing EHR, and on hand X-ray claims they run four checks:

• Modifier rules mapped to the billing entity and POS
• Quarterly NCCI and MUE updates loaded into the scrubber
• Laterality and ICD-10 matching checked before submission
• Denials sorted by CARC and RARC and traced to their root cause

That’s the routine behind each CPT code 73130 claim we send. If you’d like a second look at your hand X-ray remits, start with a free revenue cycle analysis, and we’ll send a custom report back within 24 hours.

Hand X-Ray Billing FAQs

What is the 73130 CPT code description?

The AMA describes CPT code 73130 as “Radiologic examination, hand; minimum of 3 views.” It covers one hand imaged in three or more projections, with PA, oblique, and lateral as the standard set, plus a written report. Two views report 73120 instead.

How much does Medicare pay for CPT 73130 in 2026?

Medicare’s 2026 national rate is $38.08 for the global service at the non-QP conversion factor of $33.4009. The read (modifier 26) pays $8.68, and the technical component pays $29.39. Qualifying APM participants receive $38.27. Your MAC’s locality adjustment changes the final amount.

What is the CPT code for an X-ray of the hand with two views?

Two views of the hand report 73120. A single view reports 73120 with modifier 52, because CPT has no one-view hand code. Three or more views report 73130. Code from the number of views in the signed report, not the order.

Can you bill an E/M visit and 73130 on the same day?

Yes. An office or urgent care visit and a hand X-ray both pay on the same date. Medicare doesn’t require modifier 25 on the E/M because of the X-ray, though some commercial payers’ edits still do. If the physician bills the interpretation, that X-ray can’t also count toward the visit’s MDM data.

How do you bill hand X-rays of both hands?

Bill one unit per hand. Many MACs want 73130-RT and 73130-LT on separate lines, and some accept 73130-50 on one line. Bilateral indicator 3 means each hand pays 100%, so both hands pay $76.16 at the 2026 national rate.

Does a hand X-ray need prior authorization?

Original Medicare doesn’t require prior authorization for a hand X-ray, and the AUC program never applied to plain films. CMS paused AUC and rescinded its rules effective January 1, 2024. Some Medicare Advantage and commercial plans set their own imaging rules, so verify benefits before the visit.

Sources

1. CMS PFS Relative Value Files (RVU26D, October 2026 release)
2. CMS CY 2026 Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule Fact Sheet (CMS-1832-F)
3. CMS Physician Fee Schedule Look-Up Tool
4. CMS NCCI Procedure-to-Procedure (PTP) Edits
5. CMS NCCI Medically Unlikely Edits (MUEs)
6. CMS NCCI Policy Manual
7. Medicare Claims Processing Manual, Chapter 13
8. CMS OPPS Quarterly Addenda Updates
9. CMS ASC Payment Rates Addenda
10. CMS ICD-10 Code Files
11. X12 Claim Adjustment Reason Codes
12. CMS Appropriate Use Criteria Program
13. Medicare.gov: Medicare Costs
14. AMA CPT Code Set Overview
15. MedlinePlus: Hand X-Ray