CPT 71551: Chest MRI With Contrast

CPT code 71551 denotes a contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination of the chest used to evaluate thoracic organs and lymph nodes, including assessment for hilar or mediastinal lymphadenopathy. As a cross-sectional imaging study, it is a key diagnostic tool in respiratory, oncology and cardiac care pathways and plays an important role in staging, treatment planning and monitoring of chest disease nationally.

Key payers covered include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare and Medicare. Readers will find a concise breakdown of what CPT code 71551 represents, where the service is typically performed, and commonly used claim modifiers. The publication provides clinical context for appropriate utilization and summarizes payer coverage patterns and billing considerations relevant to hospital outpatient and freestanding imaging settings.

The report highlights benchmark metrics for utilization and reimbursement trends, common documentation requirements, and policy updates that affect prior authorization and medical necessity determinations. It is designed for billing professionals, radiology administrators, and policy analysts seeking a national overview of coding and coverage implications for contrast chest MRI.

Billing Code Overview

CPT code 71551 describes a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study of the chest performed with contrast material. This diagnostic imaging procedure evaluates thoracic structures to detect disease in internal chest organs and lymph nodes, including hilar or mediastinal lymphadenopathy.

Service type: Diagnostic MRI with intravenous contrast of the chest
Typical site of service: Hospital outpatient imaging center or freestanding radiology clinic

Clinical Context

A 58-year-old patient with a history of lung cancer presents with new onset cough and unexplained weight loss. Chest radiograph and CT suggest an indeterminate mediastinal mass and possible hilar lymphadenopathy. The ordering pulmonologist requests a contrast-enhanced chest MRI to better characterize soft tissue, vascular invasion, and nodal involvement prior to staging and multidisciplinary tumor board review. The patient checks in at an outpatient radiology center, completes MRI safety screening, and receives intravenous gadolinium-based contrast via power injector. The MRI technologist performs the study in a dedicated MRI suite; images are acquired with multiplanar sequences including contrast-enhanced T1-weighted imaging. The radiologist interprets the study, documents findings regarding mediastinal lymph nodes, hilar structures, and chest wall or vascular involvement, and finalizes the report for the referring provider. Typical site of service is an outpatient imaging center, hospital outpatient department, or inpatient radiology department. Service type: diagnostic contrast-enhanced MRI of the chest.

Coding Specifications

Modifier	Description	When to Use
`26`	Professional component	Use when billing only the interpreting radiologist's professional component separate from technical facility services.
`TC`

Taxonomy Code	Specialty	Notes
`207RX0000X`	Diagnostic Radiology	Primary specialty performing and interpreting chest MRI studies.
`2084P0800X`	Interventional Radiology	In select cases where image-guided procedures or biopsies are coordinated with MRI findings.
`207K00000X`	Nuclear Medicine	Occasionally involved for multimodality imaging correlation; less common for MRI alone.
`208000000X`	Pulmonary Disease	Ordering specialty that commonly requests chest MRI for complex thoracic disease.

Related Diagnoses

ICD-10 Code	Description	Clinical Relevance
`C34.90`	Malignant neoplasm of unspecified part of bronchus or lung, unspecified	Primary lung cancer commonly prompts chest MRI to assess mediastinal involvement and local extent.
`C77.1`	Secondary and unspecified malignant neoplasm of intrathoracic lymph nodes	MRI can characterize hilar and mediastinal nodal disease for staging and treatment planning.
`J98.4`	Other disorders of lung	Used for complex non-neoplastic lung conditions where MRI may help evaluate soft-tissue chest pathology.
`I26.9`	Pulmonary embolism without acute cor pulmonale	Contrast-enhanced MRI is rarely used but may be considered in patients with contraindications to CT angiography for vascular assessment.
`R91.8`	Other nonspecific abnormal finding of lung field	Indeterminate chest imaging findings on prior studies that lead to MRI for further characterization.

Related CPT Codes

CPT Code	Description	Relationship to This Procedure
`71260`	CT chest without contrast	Often performed prior to MRI for initial anatomic assessment and detection of calcified or air-containing lesions.
`71270`	CT chest with contrast	Complementary cross-sectional imaging when CT angiography or enhanced vascular detail is required.
`38500`	Biopsy, lymph node, open; superficial	Surgical sampling that may follow MRI identification of suspicious mediastinal or hilar nodes.
`31628`	Thoracoscopy including biopsy	Procedural tissue diagnosis that can be planned after MRI localizes chest lesions.
`70553`	MRI brain with and without contrast	Example of another contrast-enhanced MRI code for patients requiring staging for metastatic disease.

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Summary & Overview