CPT 70470: CT Head/Brain, Without and With Contrast
Medicare pays $120 and commercial payers pay $480 on average nationally for this procedure.
CPT code 70470 describes a computed tomography (CT) scan of the head/brain performed first without contrast and then with contrast, including additional images to evaluate intracranial structures for abnormalities such as aneurysm or hemorrhage; service type: diagnostic CT imaging; typical site of service: outpatient imaging center or hospital radiology department.
For related coverage guidance, see recent payer policy updates: Lumbar Microdiscectomy, Artificial Cervical Intervertebral Disc, Lumbar Decompression.
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National Reimbursement Benchmarks
National mean rates cluster with Medicare at $120 and BUCA (average commercial) at $480.30, placing BUCA about $360.30 higher than Medicare on average; this highlights a substantial split between government and commercial pricing for CPT 70470. Blue Cross Blue Shield ($703.40 mean) and Aetna ($149.20 mean) sit on opposite sides of that gap, with UnitedHealth Group ($198.30 mean) and Cigna ($200.80 mean) nearer to Aetna and Medicare than to BUCA or Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Dispersion measured by the interquartile range (P75–P25) is widest for Blue Cross Blue Shield at $535.40 (P75 $825.10 minus P25 $571.70), followed by BUCA at $220.00 (P75 $577.20 minus P25 $365.60). The tightest spreads are Cigna at $181.40 and UnitedHealth Group at $150.90, with Aetna showing a moderate spread of $134.50 and Medicare a spread of $105.50, indicating more predictable regional Medicare reimbursements compared with many commercial payers.