CPT 97124: Therapeutic Massage / Soft Tissue Mobilization
Medicare pays $31 and commercial payers pay $40 on average nationally for this procedure.
CPT code 97124 describes therapeutic massage techniques (such as effleurage, petrissage, or tapotement) applied by a trained therapist to muscles and soft tissues to improve circulation, relax muscles, and stimulate soft tissues; service type: therapeutic massage / soft tissue mobilization; typical site of service: outpatient clinic, physical therapy or rehabilitation facility, or private therapy office; reported in units of 15 minutes.
For related coverage guidance, see recent payer policy updates: Lumbar Microdiscectomy, Artificial Cervical Intervertebral Disc, Lumbar Decompression.
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National Reimbursement Benchmarks
Medicare’s mean rate sits at $30.9, closely aligned with BUCA’s average commercial mean of $39.6, indicating commercial reimbursement for CPT 97124 generally runs modestly higher than Medicare but within a comparable band. Blue Cross Blue Shield and Cigna show notably higher mean levels ($40.5 and $53.6 respectively), while Aetna and UnitedHealth Group center lower around $26.1 and $35.6, highlighting variation across payers in mean reimbursement.
Dispersion measured by the interquartile range (P75 minus P25) is tightest for Medicare at $3 (P75 $32 minus P25 $29) and for UnitedHealth Group at $12.4 (P75 $37.4 minus P25 $25.4), while the widest spreads appear for Cigna ($44.0) and Blue Cross Blue Shield ($25.5). Aetna’s IQR is $10.0 and BUCA’s is $24.7, showing Cigna and BCBS exhibit the greatest variability in mid-range commercial rates.